MAIN STREET GRILLE AND BREWING CO.

For a number of years, my husband Jack and I have enjoyed scenic rides in and around historic Garrettsville, Ohio, and we love to stop at the old Garrett's Mill grist mill at the falls of Eagle Creek in the heart of the downtown. The mill building itself has been transformed into a restaurant, in more recent years with a brew-pub. For the past six, it's been Main Street Grille and Brewing Co.

Not long ago we had occasion to visit nearby Hiram, Ohio, and the decision of where to have lunch was a virtual no-brainer. And I must say, we weren't disappointed.

A relatively new brewmaster has signed on, we were told, and the list of eight ales brewed on the premises (diners can see the equipment, vats and such on the restaurant's upper level) range from Garrett's Gold (a traditional German Kolsch-style ale that's closest to "regular" brand-name beer) to Three Scots Ale, a very malty concoction brewed with English hops and a hint of smoke from traditional Scottish peated malt. Prices vary, but the Garrett's Gold goes for just $3 for a 16-ounce glass (and you can buy, as we did, pint-size ale glasses with the Main Street Grille logo for $3). 

If you're extremely thirsty, try a growler fill (64 oz.), ranging from $12 to $20 for the Three Scots Ale. And with the exception of a few seasonals like Strawberry Fields and Three Scots, growler fills are half price on Tuesdays (Happy Hour takes place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, by the way).


As you might expect, the exterior of the building is rustic old wood (it was a mill, for goodness sake). The interior has been updated, but the tables (high ones with barstools on the bar side) are a beautifully polished dark wood, and there's medium-brown knotty wood on the walls. Pretty lanterns dot the walls with TV sets interspersed in between.

There's a dining room as well, although we prefer the bar side; if weather permits, it's nice to sit outdoors on one of the two levels of decks that overlook the water and mill wheel. 

Do start with an ale while you peruse the menu (unless, of course, you're not a fan of ale at all). Not sure which to order? Samples (5 ounces) are $1.25 each, or try six for $7.50 or all eight for $10.

If you're like us, you may need a second round of ale before you settle on what you want to eat. There are quite a number of appetizers that sound wonderful, from Won Ton Jalapeno Poppers with sweet and sour dipping sauce ($4.95) to Hawg Wings (lightly fried pork shanks with Caribbean spices and a side of ranch for $7.39) to the one I really wanted to try, Ahi Tuna coated with sesame seeds served with seaweed salad, soy reduction, mango relish, wasabi aioli and crispy won ton. But alas, it goes for $12.59, and I didn't want to blow my entire lunch budget on a single item so I passed this time around.


As of our visit, there were three flatbreads on the menu, and one - lobster meat, spinach and sun dried tomato with a garlic and herb cream for $11.99 - stopped Jack dead in his tracks. This one's for me, he announced, barely looking at the rest of the menu.

I, however, took a bit more time, although I quickly scanned the delicious-sounding list of dinner-size salads because I wanted something more substantial. That said, the spinach salad with strawberries, avocado, walnuts and bacon bits with whole grain mustard and honey dressing sure was tempting ($12.59).

Similarly, I eyeballed the entrees rather quickly, since they're a bit pricier (around $13.99 to $21.99) and, more important for the moment, way too much food for lunch. But hey, there was Butternut Squash Ravioli tossed with walnuts, spinach, carmelized onion and herbs with browned butter ($15.99), Seared Salmon with pineapple, jasmine rice, alfalfa sprouts and a strawberry honey puree ($15.99) and - be still my heart - Creole Chicken Cordon Bleu, or airline chicken breast stuffed with capicola and swiss cheese with mashed potatoes, baby carrots and a Cajun remoulade ($14.99). Next time, for sure!

The list of sandwiches, all of which come with a dill pickle spear and the restaurant's hand-cut kettle chips, is a bit less daunting. I admit to waffling a bit, considering the Main Street Dip, which is crisp fried chicken, mushrooms, scallions, cheddar and Swiss cheese on a hoagie roll with light chicken gravy at $6.99 before settling on the Caribbean Spiced Mahi. It comes with mango relish, shaved lettuce and mayonnaise on an onion roll for $8.99.

Since Jack chose the chips to go with his flatbread, I spent $2 more to upgrade to the hand-cut fries (I'm not big on chips, and even if I were, we didn't need two orders of them). As it turned out, the chips were quite tasty - Jack loved them - but I wouldn't have eaten more than two or three.

The fries were good as well, although when I see "hand-cut" fries in such a uniform size, I always wonder if a hand isn't being used to operate one of those Veg-O-Matic devices as seen on TV - remember those? Truth is, I'm on my second one; with two kids and a husband who loved fries back in the day, the original wore out in a couple of years and I finally gave in and got a replacement.

Jack was very pleased with the flatbread, which was cut in six triangles and arranged neatly on the plate. I took a taste and liked it too, but the sauce was quite rich and I know I'd never have been able to eat more than a triangle or two.

My mahi sandwich was wonderful as well; it was a decent-sized chunk of fish and the Caribbean spices didn't overwhelm. Although I do love onion buns, though, I should have done what I usually do when I order fresh fish sandwiches - ask that they bring the fish to me minus the bun simply because it gets in the way of the fish flavor and texture. In this case, the bun got soggy from the fish coating rather quickly, so I ended up ditching it almost from the start.

Needless to say, we'll be returning here soon - if only so I can try that ahi tuna!

If you go:

Main Street Grille and Brewing Co.
8148 Main St.
Garrettsville, Ohio 44231
(330) 527-3663
http://www.msg-brew.com

Open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday.

THE 356th FIGHTER GROUP

Less than a handful of years ago, my husband Jack and I discovered the wonder Military Aviation Preservation Society Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio. Run by an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, the intent is to educate people about the history of military aviation. Since the topic here is dining out I won't include details, but it's a wonderful place to visit.


When we first stopped at the museum a couple of years back, we wanted to have lunch at the nearby 356th Fighter Group restaurant. Everything we'd heard about it was positive, and we wanted to see for ourselves. But alas, we had no time to spare then; but one day, we vowed, we'd get there.

The day finally happened when we purchased a half-price admission for four to the MAPS Museum from Groupon.com, with the intent of taking our friends Jerry and Barb from Niles, who'd never been there. Since we'll be in the neighborhood, we said, why not plan to eat at the 356th?

Indeed we did - and long before we were back in the car to head home we'd unanimously decided to go back soon.

Even without the food, this is an impressive place. Located on the south runways of the Akron-Canton Airport, the exterior is reminiscent of a beautiful old castle. Inside, the surprisingly spacious interior boasts several rooms with windows overlooking the airport runways and grounds. Brick walls are everywhere, and here and there are large stacks of real sandbags plus weathered wood, fireplaces and many more artifacts, all designed to reflect the World War II era.

We arrived for a late lunch, so there were plenty of places to sit. Our very friendly server brought menus that included a list of daily specials and took our drink orders - there's a full bar here, of course. After a quick look, we decided to share two appetizers: the crab-stuffed mushrooms ($9.99) and stuffed cubanelle peppers with mild Italian sausage and homemade marinara plus provolone and mozzarella cheeses ($8.99).


It took a while, though, to decide on our entrees; the menu is both lengthy and impressive, and for our first time here, we wanted to make the best-possible choices. Not easy, we learned; from pecan crusted tilapia to asiago pretzel crusted chicken to "healthy choice" items lilke a marinated pork chop and vegetarian stir fry and oodles of tempting sandwiches and salads, everything sounded wonderful.

Finally, I zeroed in on one of the daily specials - prime rib bordelaise for $12.99. It comes with sauteed mushrooms and house-made bordelaise and rice pilaf, and for my side, I chose the chicken corn chowder - also a soup of the day. The prime rib was cooked medium and above for the day's special, so I asked that they come as close to medium as they could (as those who have read my reviews before know, I prefer my prime rib to be just shy of still mooing).


Jerry liked the idea of prime rib, but in the sandwich version ($10.99). It's shaved thin with jack cheese, mushrooms and sauteed onions and served open face with au jus and fries. But when the server described the homemade chips here, he swapped out the fries to go with the chips.

Both Jack and Barb were in a fishy mood, I guess, so they finally settled on the stuffed sole filet with scallops and crabmeat stuffing, Hollandaise sauce and rice pilaf for $11.99. Both chose a tossed salad as their side.

Especially at lunchtime, we could (and probably should) have stopped at the appetizers. The stuffed mushrooms were especially mouth-watering, filled with lots of crabmeat bits and almost none of the usual bread crumb mixture as they are at most other places. The peppers were wonderful as well, with delicious marinara sauce and peppers that really had a kick (but not so much that even Jack, who loves the flavor but not the heat, couldn't eat a few bites).

The salads were good, although nothing out of the ordinary; but when our server delivered a round loaf of fresh whole-grain bread, we devoured it almost immediately. I loved my corn chowder, too; the broth was on the thin side, but exceptionally flavorful - and there was no shortage of shredded chicken, chopped red peppers, and, of course, corn.

The entrees couldn't have been much better, confirming that we'd done well in our choices. The sole was well cooked with a tasty stuffing; my prime rib wasn't think, but it was a piece bigger than my two hands held side by side with my fingers extended - and this was a lunch portion, for goodness sake. They did well in giving me a portion close to medium, and the flavor and texture reminded me more of ribeye than prime rib. The sauce was absolutely delicious as well and made the rice pilaf extra good when I added in a bit of the sauce. In the end, I had to take home more than half of my meat and sauce.

Jerry loved his sandwich, although it was so large and stuffed full that he finally gave up trying to get it to his mouth intact and cut it up in more manageable pieces (which he mostly ate with a fork).

If you go:

The 356th Fighter Group
4919 Mount Pleasant Road
North Canton, Ohio 44720
(330) 494-3500
http://www.356fg.com

Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for Sunday brunch; Sunday dinner 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

SHELLABELLA'S ON MAIN

The chances that my husband Jack and I will drive all the way to anywhere in Columbiana County just to have a meal are somewhere between slim and none. Oh sure, we love to have lunch at Das Dutch Haus in Columbiana and BB Rooners and Ricky's English Pub in Salem -- all of which I've told you about in previous blogs (http://mahoningvalleyeats.blogspot.com/2011/10/das-dutch-haus-restaurant-bakery.html,  http://mahoningvalleyeats.blogspot.com/2012/03/b-b-rooners-food-spirits.html and http://mahoningvalleyeats.blogspot.com/2011/02/rickys-english-pub.html). But I don't recall ever once making a special trip just for the purpose of eating.

If we do stop anywhere, it's because we're on the way home from a photography outing at Beaver Creek State Park, Broadway Wharf in East Liverpool or maybe The Bison Ranch just outside Ellsworth to see if any of those big hairy guys are out in the fields.

But those odds are much improved now that we've been to Shellabella's on Main in Columbiana. We "discovered" it, in fact, as a result of an offer by MyValleyDining.com, from which I purchased a $25 gift certificate for something like $10. Uh-oh, I worried - would it be worth the trip?

The short answer is a resounding yes. To begin with, when was the last time you found a cozy cafe-type eatery that has a full bar? That alone was enough to seal the deal for us. Once we'd tried the food, though, we knew we'd be back.


The place has two main dining areas, one of which includes the bar (guess which side we picked)? The bar itself is decorated with sports memorabilia, including a sign with a really old-time Cleveland Browns mascot that we haven't seen for many years. Interesting antique-looking "stuff" is on the walls and tucked neatly away on shelves and shadow boxes as well. 


The big surprise, though, is the menu; not only is it fairly extensive, it features quite a few things that are unique, at least to us. For openers, we considered deep fried Asiago olives with bistro sauce ($6.29), breaded fried pickles with dill sauce ($6.29) and a "Yummy Roll" ($6.99). The latter, described as a deep-fried egg roll wrapper with cream cheese and a southwest cheesy chicken mixture covered with garlic ranch sauce, was just too tempting to pass up.

Plenty of salads and low-carb wraps are available, all of which sounded delicious (well, except for anything that has cucumbers in it - IMHO, the only good cucumber is one that's been turned into a pickle). Dinner entrees are all over the map, from steaks to chicken and fish to Italian dishes - most are in the $10.99 to $15.99 range. Our visit was at lunchtime, though, and those aren't on the lunch menu (and in any event, we wouldn't have been that hungry). But we did vow to return if only to try the sesame crusted tuna with sweet teriyaki glaze ($15.95) and chicken spindellinni, or sauteed chicken breast with roasted red peppers and spinacn in garlic cream sauce on a bed of cheese tortellini ($14.95).


First, we perused the daily lunch specials, and until the last minute I had my eye on the bacon garlic ranch avocado burger with garlic ranch dressing ($9.50). Just before our server came to write everything down, though, I switched to the hot spinach, garlic and chicken croissant with gourmet cheese, chopped chicken, garlic mushrooms, feta, mozzarella and fresh spinach on a grilled croissant roll ($8.79). The devil might have made me do it, but more likely it's because if you put it on a croissant, I'll eat it (well, as long as you leave out those cucumbers). I chose fries instead of cole slaw, although for a buck more I could have upgraded to other sides like sweet potato fries.

Jack's pick - Jim's portabella and chicken melt with balsamic dressing at $8.49) - was from the regular lunch menu. For his side, he went with the Vidalia onion viniagrette slaw. 

At the outset, we learned that the Yummy Roll couldn't have a better name, except perhaps "out of this world" roll. It's a little too small to share as we did (that's why it's an appetizer, I suppose), but having a whole one to yourself would be so filling you wouldn't be able to eat a whole lot else. It's crispy on the outside and ooey-gooey on the inside, sort of reminiscent of crab rangoon except with chicken flavor. Positively decadent!

Both our sandwiches were unusually good, a tribute, I suppose, to the slightly outside-the-box ingredients in many of the dishes here. I'm not a big cole slaw fan, but I loved the Vidalia slaw here - but Jack, more of a slaw traditionalist, wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it. And departing from our usual practice of taking half of our sandwiches home for later, we both managed to stuff down both halves even on top of that Yummy Roll. That's not because the sandwiches are smaller than most, but rather a testament to their wonderful taste.

Admittedly, we ran into a couple of minor glitches early on, including being "forced" to switch to a different beer because the Yuengling tap wasn't working properly. On the plus side, though, the short beers are served in exceptionally frosty mugs - another thing that will get my attention every time.

It also became evident that only one server was on duty, and understandably she was having a tough time dealing with at least three full tables on the bar side and one or two in the other room. As I watched, I couldn't help but think of "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get" from Alice in Wonderland. But in addition to working hard, she had a delightful sense of humor - and our longer-than-customary wait came only at the beginning. Once we'd placed our order, it arrived very quickly and was served with a friendly smile.

If you go:

Shellabella's On Main
108 S. Main St.
Columbiana, Ohio 
(330) 482-1700

Open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.

MONTEEN'S SOUTHERN CUISINE

I'm not from the South, but I did grow up in southwestern Ohio close enough to Kentucky to have a bit of a southern accent, or so I was told by my college roommates when I came "way up north" to Kent State University many moons ago. Being the child of parents named Pickett, too, goes a long way to establishing my southern creds. So when I saw a new Liberty Township restaurant - Monteen's Southern Cuisine - I started hankering for some down-home cookin'.

And then one evening, we gathered up our eating-out buddies, Jerry and Barb from Niles, and paid a visit. I'll tell you two things up front: first, "home" here is quite a bit farther south than the place I remember; and two, we definitely plan on a return trip to try some of the things we simply couldn't get in the first time, like the secret-recipe dry rubbed, slow-smoked barbeque chicken or and ribs. A half chicken, with two sides and a choice of bread, is $13.99, and a half rack of ribs is $14.99.

Monteen's is in a building we've been to before - if we remember correctly, it once housed Armando's, a great Italian restaurant. The interior hasn't changed a lot as far as layout and colors go, but the Italian decorations on the walls are gone. Just inside the entrance is a dessert/checkout counter; the dining room is on the right. At the left is Club Amauri, which features a bar and dance floor and occasional live bands reminiscent of the speakeasies I've seen in old movies (food from Monteen's menu is available here as well).

Not wanting to push the fill-up envelope too early, we decided to share a single appetizer of six fried green tomatoes with horseradish sauce for dipping ($5.99). Breaded in cornmeal, the tomatoes were delicious, and we all loved the horseradish sauce. Next time, though, we may go for the sampler platter ($13.99) with two smoked beef slices, two smoked ribs and a chicken thigh, which would be plenty for the four of us when we're planning to add a meal.

The list of sandwiches is lengthy and appealing enough to make us stop and think; I'm a huge fan of fried balogna, for instance, and this one, with lettuce, tomato and raw onion, is only $3.99 and looked very tempting. Barbecue pulled pork always sounds good as well, and on a Kaiser bun for $7.99 (sandwiches here come with hand cut French fries and coleslaw), this one was hard to pass up.

But this was dinner, after all, so we agreed we'd each choose a different entree so we could sample more things. Jerry didn't take long making his decision - braised oxtails with sides of red beans and rice and candied yams for $15.99. My husband Jack chose grilled salmon with fried okra and macaroni and cheese for $14.99 (he could have had it blackened, but that's not his style). Barb loves grits, so it didn't take her long to settle on the shrimp and grips with fried okra and the chef's choice of greens for $14.99. 

Since I was looking for something that reminded me of my childhood with a cook-everything-from-scratch mother, I seriously considered grilled liver and onions, one of the house specials. But that was before I spotted chicken livers; that's a dish my mother cooked often. I carried on that tradition with my own family, but then pizza and take-out took over and chicken livers became quite hard to find (still are). I could get them fried or sauteed (I chose the former) for $10.99, and my choices for sides were baked beans and sauteed squash - other options are dirty rice, succotash and cornbread dressing.

One thing I will emphasize here is that if you're not a fan of the somewhat gritty cornmeal, stay away from anything here that's fried; it seems to be the breading of choice on all dishes from those green tomatoes to my chicken livers to Jack's salmon. I like it, but in much smaller doses; had I known ahead of time, I'd have ordered my livers sauteed instead.

Barb was delighted with the fried okra in particular (yes, same breading), commenting that she'd return here just to have that again. It's different from most because the entire pod is cooked here. She also noted that the greens had a different and interesting flavor, perhaps some kind of meat broth.


Jerry was happy with his oxtails as well - there were three good-sized ones -- and the bowl of red beans and rice was so large he just couldn't finish it all. The candied yams were delicious, with a slightly different flavor we couldn't put our finger on, so we asked the owner and learned that it's nutmeg (that's her on the left, in a photo I "borrowed" from Monteen's website).

Barb's grits had lots of cheese and bacon bits and was very good, but here, too, it was just too much to finish. She had no such problem with the six shrimp, though, polishing off each and every one.

Except for the cornmeal breading, my chicken livers were wonderful too, although I'd have preferred a few more grilled onions. As an unusual touch, a small container of brown gravy was brought for dipping. The grilled squash and baked beans - welcome departures from all the cornmeal - were delicious too; I loved the flavor in the beans, and I made a note that if they're any indication, I'd probably love the barbecue here. Meanwhile, Jack enjoyed his salmon and the mac and cheese even more; since he couldn't polish off the large bowl, I was happy to help and agree it's good.

We all agreed this is a place we'd return, perhaps to try a few of the brunch items available on Sundays. The French toast special ($8.99) sounded especially good with three pieces of toast, three eggs and three pieces of bacon or sausage.

If you go:

Monteen's Southern Cuisine
3807 Belmont Ave.
Youngstown, Ohio 44505
(330) 759-3699

www.monteens.com

Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Carryout available.

FIREHOUSE GRILLE & PUB

The threat of a late spring snow is hovering as I write this, but it's spring nonetheless. Now's the time my husband Jack and I start looking for interesting daytrips to carry us through till the snow starts to fall again -- daytrips that always include a few good places to eat.


Again this season, we're looking forward to soaking up some history at Zoar Village. Located between Canton and New Philadelphia in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, the village was founded in 1817 by the Society of Separatists of Zoar, a group of German religious dissenters. Eleven buildings have been restored and are open for public tours except in November and December, such as a tinshop, wagon shop, blacksmith and the very interesting Zoar Store. In season, costumed interpreters are on hand, and both guided and self-guided tours can be arranged.


One of my favorite places is the Historic Zoar Garden, a 2 1/2-acre mostly flower garden (we found some veggies in there as well) that's open all year with no admission charge. Go at the right time of the summer and you'll be dazzled by a vast array of hibiscus the size of dinner plates. Special events are held throughout the year including a biennial Civil War reenactment (the next will be Sept. 7 and 8, 2013), the Harvest Festival (Aug. 4 and 5) and Christmas in Zoar (Dec. 1 and 2). 


Other structures are private residences, shops and restaurants. It is the latter, of course, that is sure to get our attention whenever we visit: The Firehouse Grille & Pub, a neat place that reminds me of a German pub (not that I've ever been in a real one, mind you). The decor is mostly weathered wood, from the floor to the walls to the tables and chairs. It's also said to be the "home of the $1 burger," although I admit we've never tried one of those.


Actually, on our most recent visit I did pick a burger, but with fresh cut fries my "Firestarter" burger cost $7.99. It was topped with mozzarella, crushed red peppers, jalapenos, Tabasco sauce shredded lettuce and tomato. I'm never a big fan of fries, but these are especially tasty; once I added some vinegar, I could have sworn they came from the old Idora Park in Youngstown.


The burger was great too - with all those peppers, it definitely had a kick. Truth is I've never met a jalapeno that I considered to be remotely hot, but these bit back a little, and the crushed reds and Tabasco jazzed it up even more. It wasn't so hot that Jack wouldn't have enjoyed a taste, but I guarantee he wouldn't have taken more than one.


Meanwhile, he ordered the Philly cheesesteak sandwich with homemade potato chips, also $7.99. Diners can choose chicken or beef (he picked the latter), chopped and blended with onions and mushrooms and topped with mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese sauce on a fresh hoagie bun. For the record, he said the sandwich is one of the best he's had anywhere - and he orders Philly steak a lot. In a rare move with such a large sandwich, he ate the whole thing - usually, he takes half of it home, further proof of how delicious this one was.


The fresh chips were excellent, too - much like packaged kettle chips. As for beer, which is mandatory at a pub, it's quite inexpensive here and notably cold. Since both Sam Adams Oktoberfest and Labbatt's were on tap at the time of our visit, we were especially happy campers.


If you go:


Firehouse Grille & Pub
162 Main St.
Zoar, Ohio 44697
(330) 874-2170


Open from noon to 2 p.m., 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday; 11 a.m. to noon, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday; and noon to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. There's no restaurant website, but information about historic Zoar Village can be found at http://ohiohistory.org/zoar (Ohio Historical Society) and http://historiczoarvillage.com (Zoar Community Association). 

DISHING ON DINING OUT

Over the course of the past 20 years or so, my husband Jack and I have taken restaurant dining seriously. In part, that's because at one time or another, one or both of us have been engaged (for money) in writing reviews of some of the places we chose to visit. Add to that a simple love of eating out (mixed with a spoonful of dislike of doing the cooking ourselves), and we've long since lost count of the number of restaurants we've had the pleasure of visiting.

Or, in some cases, the displeasure. Life in the restaurant world doesn't always come up roses, and we've had our share of miserable experiences along the way. So for this "review," we've compiled a list of likes, dislikes and frustrations that push our dining out buttons. If you agree - or don't - we'd love to hear about it. If you have pet peeves or advice on how to get the most from a dining-out experience, we'd love to hear that, too.

Meantime, for better or worse, here's our 11 cents!

#1: Water, water, everywhere. Except, that is, on restaurant tables. Some years back, a severe drought across the United States resulted in strict conservation measures. One of the casualties of war, so to speak, was that servers no longer would bring water to diners as they sat down as had been the custom. Good move, we said, betting that at least half of that water never got drunk anyway.

Problem is, water long since started flowing again everywhere except in restaurants. Let me emphasize that because much of it is wasted, I agree it shouldn't be delivered automatically. At the same time, I don't think diners should have to beg for it; after a server has taken drink orders shortly after the diners are seated, how much trouble would it be to ask if we'd like some?

And that brings me to my water pet peeve No. 2: I can't count the number of times I've had to remind our server once (and on at least one occasion, thrice) before I get the water I had to ask for to begin with. Do they really think I'll just forget I wanted it and save them the trouble of bringing me a glass? Not in this lifetime, bucko!

That's followed by water pet peeve No. 3: No refills. We've watched it happen so often at various restaurants that it's become a standing joke: Jack ordered soda and I opted for nothing to drink besides water. When both of our glasses are nearly empty, the server physically turns his or her back to me to ask Jack if he wants a refill -- as if I, and my empty glass, don't even exist. I know water is free, and extra trips to our table can translate into more work for less money for the servers. But c'mon, folks - this kind of behavior is just plain rude.

#2: Non-edible munchkins. Don't get me wrong; I like kids. But when I'm in a restaurant other than fast food and paying money to enjoy a meal, I expect them to be in their seats and not shrieking. I know from personal experience what a treat it is for parents to have a meal out, and often, that means with kids in tow. But we never failed to be cognizant of other diners who have a right to not be cognizant of our unruly children. At no time were they allowed to run around in a restaurant, and on the rare occasions they acted up too much, we snatched them up and took them home immediately.

#3: Portion spins. Let's face it: The restaurant industry is hurting. Profit margins are pretty slim on a good day; and as discretionary income takes a hit in today's economy, they're dangerously close to the breaking point. Understandably, owners are looking for ways to stay afloat. One way to do that seems to be cutting back slightly on portion size without cutting prices, a trend we've seen just about everywhere. Where we once counted on having at least one more meal apiece from our "doggie" bags, we now count ourselves lucky to fill up while we're there - never mind leftovers.

We can live with that, although it's one reason we, like many other formerly frequent diners, have cut back fairly substantially on how often we eat out. What we can't quite stomach, though, are the offers of smaller portions and even two-for-one entrees that are touted as "value" meals. In most cases, there's nothing good here. The two-for-one "deals" are noticeably less-than-regular portions, and while those smaller meals are appealing because there's less waste and/or over-stuffing ourselves, the prices are proportionately higher than we'd pay to get the full versions.

#4:Too much of a good thing. Customer service cuts two ways. Give too little, and you risk losing our business. But too much of it can be just as off-putting. Take, for instance, the time we sat in a pub waiting for our drinks to arrive. Granted, it took a wee bit longer than it should have for them to be delivered, but did we really need our server to stop three times to say they'd be "coming right out" and ask if we need anything? Um, yes there is, we wanted to respond -- we need the drinks.

At still another casual restaurant, we stopped counting after our server stopped to ask how we were doing six times before we'd even finished our entrees - and during that time, the restaurant manager also planted himself at our table to ask the same question. Golly, we said as we made a hasty retreat - now we know where not to go if we want to have any kind of ongoing conversation!

So how much is too much? Well, if my glass is more than half full, it's a sure bet I don't even want to think about another beer yet. If we're busy eating, talking and smiling, we'd like to continue doing that without interruption. When most of our food is gone and/or we're starting to stack empty plates, it's a signal that we're probably ready for the check (or a suggestion for dessert). Bottom line? Keep your eyes open and you won't shut diners out.

#5: Squeaky cleaning. Seeing a couple of crumbs on the floor doesn't bother me much - but watching someone pick up dirt in and under my table while I'm in the middle of a meal does. Even worse is the pungent smell of the spray cleaners that are applied to the empty table next to me while I'm eating -- guaranteed to take away my appetite. I do understand - really I do - that it's necessary on occasion to haul out the sweeper to pick up the cracker crumbs, half-chewed hot dog bits and French fry tips that giggling two-year-old threw on the floor. But please, folks, surely you can find a cleaner that doesn't stink to high heaven!

#6: Familiarity breeds contempt. I'm one of the most informal people I know; it's fine if other people's kids call me by my first name and I'm not inclined to answer if somebody calls me "Mrs. Ryan." Still, it bothers me when a restaurant server bounces up to our table with the greeting, "How are you guys doin' today?" followed by "Do you guys need anything?" throughout the meal. Maybe it's because I'm not a "guy," but it's quite off-putting. "How are you two doing today?" is just as friendly and a lot less irritating.

#7: No separate checks. Try as I might, I can't for the life of me figure out why a restaurant would prohibit writing up two separate checks when two couples eat at the same table (and after talking with other folks who've run into the same stone wall, I'm not the only one ticked off about it). The most innovative response I've heard to the question of why not was this: "If I do two checks, the food for all of you may not come out at the same time." Well you guys, I'll bet it will if you tell someone the checks are for the same table. If you can't figure out a way to do that, we're willing to chance it if it means we don't have to figure out who owes what at the end of our meal. And if that doesn't work, well, we'll just take our business elsewhere next time.

#8. Waiting is the hardest part. With apologies to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, having to wait longer than 20 minutes or so to get a table isn't on my want-to-do list. That, however, isn't my big objection; it's when we're told the wait will be "about 10 minutes" and half an hour later we still haven't been seated. Of course, I understand it's impossible to pin down how long a party of five will dawdle over coffee; but all too often, it's pretty clear we're being given an estimate on the very low end simply to keep us from going somewhere else.

#9. No reservations. This one applies only to more upscale restaurants; with a Mickey D's, Wendy's or Burger King on just about every corner, it's not too hard to get to a fast food place where the line isn't out the door and around the building. I know that very popular establishments have such an overflow of business that they really don't need to accept reservations, but even they should know that all good things come to a slowdown, especially in the restaurant industry -- and meeting the needs and expectations of customers is important no matter how popular you are right now.

It's fine with me, BTW, if they require a credit card number to reserve a time (and charge a stated fee if I fail to show up). But when I'm heading out to a fancy place, perhaps to celebrate a special event, the only place I'll choose is one at which I can get some sort of guarantee that I won't have to fight the crowd.

#10. Put it online. Yes, Virginia, this is a good thing. Whether it's making one of the above-mentioned reservations, ordering take-out or buying a gift card, having the option of doing it online is a wonderful convenience. Similarly, I like being able to peruse a restaurant's menu online before I visit, especially if it's one I haven't been to before.

#11. Perks. So-called "loyalty" programs are another good thing -- signing up online or even punch cards that reward me for my business every so often (and if you do it by e-mail, so much the better). Even then, I'll issue a caveat: Make it meaningful. Offering me one free dessert when I buy two expensive entrees and two drinks just doesn't cut it. Buy one entree and get one free, and I'm all yours again (and again). And while you're at it, give me some time; sending me a discount coupon that expires the very next day virtually guarantees I won't be able to use it (and especially if it's a really good deal, I'll be quite upset that I wasn't able to take advantage of the offer).

B B ROONERS FOOD & SPIRITS

When it comes to dining out, life is very, very good in northeastern Ohio. Within a drive of 20 minutes or less in any direction, my husband Jack and I can be chowing down on wonderful food, from burgers to lobster tail depending on what mood we're in.
Personal taste and a budget, though, mean we're more likely to gravitate toward the burgers; casual food generally costs less, and we much prefer a laid-back atmosphere to worrying about whether we're using the wrong fork. If we're heading south, one of our favorite stops is in Salem at B B Rooners Food & Spirits, a place that's popular just about any time of day or evening (and has been so for more than 22 years, although we didn't "discover" it until perhaps a dozen years ago). The atmosphere screams sports bar - TV sets tuned to football, basketball or whatever happens to be in season plus team trophies and even motorcycles parked on display inside. When the weather's decent, there's an outside bar and deck as well.

There are two main dining areas, one of which includes a good-sized bar; the other now hosts lunch buffet that costs just $6.99 for a goodly array of that usually includes pastas, pizzas, soup, salads, sandwiches and such (kids under 10 pay $4.99). On the other side of that is a long hall-like "room" with several booths that offer a bit more privacy than other parts of the restaurant.

That hallway is where we sat on one recent Sunday visit around lunchtime; in fact, we snagged the last available booth. I was especially hungry, so I asked for more time to inspect the menu, hoping to find a taste appetizer to take the edge off. The BB Spuds sounded good - potatoes with melted cheddar, bacon bits and sour cream for $7.20 - as did the battered fried zucchini sticks with marinara sauce ($5.15). In the end, I ordered eight wings with butter garlic sauce to share with Jack (also $5.15).

Choosing an entree took even longer; several specialty pizzas, including white with garlic and oil, hot peppers and five cheeses ($9.25) sounded wonderful. The pasta dinner for $10.30 comes with a salad, bread and butter, and diners can choose from cavatelli, spaghetti, linguine, penne, rigatoni or wheat (decisions, decisions, decisions)! On top of the "normal" sauces is an option for chili on top.

There are several salads and soups, and if you choose a sandwich, you can substitute one of these for the fries that come standard. Speaking of sandwiches, many have intriguing sports-related names: Triple Play Burger, World Series, Golf Club (as expected, a club sandwich) and Hook Line & Sinker, a breaded jumbo piece of fish on toasted bun for $7.20 (add 80 cents if you prefer broiled).

Our two children are well beyond the age to qualify for the children's menu (for that matter, so are our four grandchildren), but I couldn't help noticing that the "Little All Stars" menu here has quite a few choices that would appeal to munchkins, like two mini-burgers with fries and spaghetti and a meatball with applesauce. All are priced at a reasonable $3.99. When it comes to dessert (which we almost never have room to try), the options are limited, but the apple dumpling that's served warm with ice cream always sounds appealing.

After much deliberation, I chose the Pit Stop ($7.20), a DiRusso Italian sausage topped with peppers, onions and homemade sauce billed as "Just Like The Fair" (that's the storied Canfield Fair for those who don't know). Jack stayed on the lighter side with Post Time, a tuna salad sandwich on toast. He picked a side salad and I chose wedding soup instead of fries.

The wings were outstanding; the breading was crispy but not tooth-breakingly crunchy, and they were softened a bit by swimming in minced garlic and butter. They're also on the plump side, so we couldn't polish them all off before our server delivered other goodies. I admit that the strong spices in my first taste of the wedding soup gave me pause, but once I found (and removed) the whole bay leaf that was lurking in the cup the flavor grew on me. By the time I got to the bottom I was wishing for more. Jack's salad was simple with basic greens and a few veggies - pretty standard fare -- but he did say the raspberry vinaigrette dressing was exceptional.

Both sandwiches were very good. Jack said the tuna salad wasn't anything special, but then we're not exactly sure what could make tuna salad out of the ordinary (and he probably wouldn't like it if it were). My sausage link filled a large Italian hoagie roll, and there was so much sauce, peppers and onions on top that I literally couldn't get it to my mouth without spilling it. In the end, I just pulled it apart and ate it with a knife and fork, enjoying both the sausage and the delicious sauce.

Our next visit also came at lunch, but this time, we sat on the "restaurant" side, where there are a number of booths and tables. Once again, we got the last available booth, which happened to be near the wall board that listed the day's specials. I walked over to check out the buffet as well. I found a variety of pastas, pizzas, soup, salad and even small sandwiches, and everything looked appealing. Still, I'm not much of a buffet aficionado, so I decided to pass on this option (as did Jack).

We deliberated for a while, and finally I ordered the Reuben lunch special with fries ($6.99, down 30 cents or so from the usual price). . Jack decided to go healthier with a turkey burger ($6.70), choosing a side salad with that great raspberry vinaigrette dressing instead of fries or soup.

After I'd ordered my sandwich, our friendly server (for the record, we've never met a server here anything close to unfriendly) told me they have great Reubens. That's a fact I knew to be true since I've had them here before, but not very recently. When it arrived, it contained the requisite corned beef, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing on delicious grilled, buttery marble rye bread. The fries didn't look like the overwhelming amount some restaurants pile on these days, but even after sharing a few with Jack I had plenty left.

Jack was happy with his ground turkey burger, which was topped with tomato and grilled onion and tomato as requested and rather sizable. In fact, he polished it off with time enough to spare that he could help me finish my Reuben.

If you go:

BB Rooners Food & Spirits
256 E. State St.
Salem, Ohio 44460
(330) 337-0001
www.bbroonersfoodandspirits.com

Open at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner seven days a week.