Fun Playing with Bread and Burgers at Fresh Start Diner

Early in June, I wrote about our drive to New York, and how I had hoped to begin our day eating at a diner I'd heard did a great breakfast and lunch in Twinsburg. Turned out I didn't know the name or exact location of the place, so we ate at Brewsters.

Since our departure to Pittsburgh a few weeks ago would take us in the same direction to access the freeway, I made it my business to get the name and location of the diner: Fresh Start. Tucked into a nondescript strip at 9810 Ravenna Road, Twinsburg, this tidy place beckoned. As so often happens, it was somewhere between breakfast and lunch times when we actually pulled into the place, so we both wound up ordering different permutations of the burger.


House Made Rye Bread for Retail Sale

The menu touted the house-made rye - I was determined to try it. Bob, as he often does, ordered the basic burger:


Knock-out Hamburger
"About an 8 ounce mix of ground sirloin, chuck, and steak trimmings, hand pattied (with gloves) fresh each day, on a great bun, or any of our breads."

As all of the sandwiches, the burger came with Fresh Start Fries and a dill pickle spear, as well as tomato, lettuce, raw onion on request.

I went for the Patty Melt - I was sold by the menu description: "Real rye grilled is what makes it great" - looked good to me!





Not only did I get the house made rye (which I realize reading the menu now I could have had with the house burger) but I got the pictured caramelized onions, which were simply fabulous. The bread was not grilled, however, I didn't miss that at all - I adore freshly made bread and prefer that it not be toasted if it is that fresh.

The fries were also wonderful - obviously house made, simple potato slices cooked then fried to perfection.


Yum.

The only negative to our visit was the service - though the diner wasn't crowded at all, we definitely got the feeling that we were imposing on the two ladies working the FOH. We had to ask for everything, and no one came to check on our meals (I really wanted a sharp knife, and it took a while to get one). This was a shame, because Fresh Start had such a wonderful "Mom & Pop" feel to it.



The service may not have been perfect, but any place that makes a burger that looks this good and tastes as good as this is ok in my book! We look forward to trying Fresh Start again soon - we certainly had fun playing with the food there.

Fun Playing with Burgers: Brewsters and The Annex

Bob and I are recently returned from our first drive to NY in 14 years. We had a marvelous trip and played with some yummy food.

We began our journey at Brewsters Cafe in Twinsburg. We had never been here - heck, we didn't even know it was here. I was actually looking for a different place that I thought was in this location. Still - Brewsters looked inviting, and we were suddenly both craving burgers, so it seemed like the ideal stop. Disclaimer here: this was our first and only visit to Brewsters - so you must take my negative comments below with appropriate doses of salt.

Brewsters's website and menus proclaim its mission: to have FUN. Given my attitude about playing with food, it seemed like just the place for us. We walked in and, after standing around for a few moments, and finally inquiring in the bar, were told to sit anywhere. We picked a table and purused the menu. Though it was dead on lunch hour, only a few tables were occupied. Still, the bar looked nice, and the beer selection - which included several varieties of Great Lakes Brewing Company beers on tap - was fantastic.

I almost hesitated at ordering the burger after reading the menu description, which claimed that the meat was brushed with a "secret" Au Jus containing espresso (I despise coffee). Still, I decided to go for it.

The plates we were served looked lovely.







But the burgers themselves were very disappointing. We'd asked for them medium, but they were well done - and there was no moisture coming out of it at all. There was no taste of espresso, au jus, or anything else - it didn't really even taste "meaty." But the meat wasn't dry. It just had a very weird texture. And it tasted and felt as though it had been microwaved.



We asked the server how the burgers were prepared (and they had come up awfully quickly after we ordered them). She told us that at lunch, they are cooked on a panini press and at dinner, they are sometimes done outside on a grill. Oh.

And this is such a shame, because the menu is written in the language of fun, ("Drunk as a Skunk Beef Tips", "Pork Shaw Shanks Redemption", "Whole Leaf Caesar Eric Wedge") and the place has a nice vibe. But the service wasn't great (it took forever to get our check and get cashed out); and we spent the entire trip craving a great burger. Fortunately, we did slake that craving after we returned. And we will certainly give Brewsters another chance, because the menu and the place seemed like they should be fun, and they are locally owned and operated.

Fast forwarding to June 1 - we returned home from Long Island, with most of my parents' old freezer in my car (the door didn't fit; we'll fetch that later this summer). Still craving a fabulous burger, we decided to walk the half mile to The Annex Bar & Grille, at the corner of Pettibone Road and Liberty Road. We have lived a half mile away from the The Annex for almost 13 years, but had never been there. As the linked article indicates, and as was apparant from looking at the place, until the no smoking law was enacted, The Annex had a lot of smoke. So, we'd never gone. But someone recently posted on the Cleveland.com Food & Wine Forum that The Annex makes one of the best burgers in town.

We walked in and sat at the bar. The inside was a little warmer than I expected - but as I expected, it was a real locals kind of bar - simple, warm and welcoming.



I was so happy to see that they supported the Walk for Multiple Sclerosis last month!



They have a great selection of alcohol for a neighborhood place (but don't expect much by way of wine). The beer selection is good (Great Lakes Dortmunder and Sam Adams on tap, and Dos Equis Dark in bottle, among others).



Though my Jagermiester days are over - they've got it cold if that's your thing.



They have warm nuts, nuts in the shell, and assorted chips and bar snacks available.




This is a view of the kitchen, such as it is. A refrigerator, professional stove and fryer are about it. Oh - and a french-fry cutter on the wall, which I didn't get a good photo of.

So, we got all comfy and sipped our drinks - and learned that they don't serve burgers on Monday or Wednesday - they serve wings. Since we were very hungry - we said ok to the wings, and also ordered a side of fresh-cut fries and a side of onion rings.


My Wings with Garlic

They were not kidding about that garlic - lots and lots of it - and it was darn tasty!


Bob's Wings with Hot Sauce

The commercial hot sauce was ok. The amazing thing was that these wings (and the onion rings) all came out of food service bags - but they were really very, very good. Cooking counts.



The fries are cut and fried to order. They are delicious and fresh - not very crispy, but nevertheless delicious.



I really enjoyed these onion rings, even though they started life frozen.

While we were enjoying our nosh - Annex owners Rick and Patricia Ledinsky came in and announced that their City Council battle to enlarge the parking lot was concluded in their favor. We chatted briefly and Rick was kind enough to buy us a drink. We promised that we'd be back for burgers ASAP - and we weren't kidding.

The next night - Tuesday June 2 - we returned to The Annex to satisfy that burger itch.



Can you say "scratch"?



Bingo, as he is affectionately known, serves up burgers in two sizes - 2/3 pound and 1/3 pound. We opted for the smaller size, which breaks the bank at $3.75.



Ahhh - I feel so much better now! Bob had cheese on his, but being a purist, I wanted to try my first one without.



We also shared a basket of those tasty fresh cut fries. I don't know if The Annex has the best burger in town - but the ones we tasted were mighty fine - hand shaped, cooked on the grill from scratch, moist and delicious.

The Annex serves up tasty food and drinks at prices the Miller High Life Delivery Man would approve of. We anticipate more fun playing with the food and drink at the Annex in our future!

More Fun Playing With Great Diner Fare at Kalie's

I am overdue for an update on Kalie's Family Restaurant, 4446 Mayfield Road, South Euclid Ohio [(216) 382-4490]. I have enjoyed several delicious lunches since my last Kalie's post in October 2008.

Lunch 11/6/08:


Cheeseburger Soup

House-made and delicious! So satisfying that Bruce at this for his lunch.


Goulash Soup

This had a nice spice level and rich flavor.




Mediterranean Salad w/Gyro Meat

My lunch - wonderful!





Lunch 1/26/09:


Freshly made Beef with Pasta Soup

I love their homemade soups!




Cheeseburger

Bruce's entree. Burgers come with your choice of fries or soup - today, Bruce took the soup!




BLT

Kalie's makes the most wonderful BLT.





Lunch 3/3/09 (Square Root Day - think about it!)


Cheeseburger with Fries




Chicken Paprikash

This bowl of Chicken Paprikash gave me the best, most lip-smacking enjoyment of anything I've had at Kalie's. Yes, I've had their Paprikash before and yes, it was good. But this bowl was over the top.



Huge chunks of exquisitely tender chicken. Generous heat and pepper flavor from no fewer than four species of chile. Silky gravy loaded with flavor. And a generous application of Hot Hungarian Paprika. This bowl was comfort food perfection.



Dimitri, the owner, explained that they made it two ways this time - spicy and not. Because the genius to this dish isn't in the paprika (which could be added by the diner) so much as the flavors the peppers cooked into it - and you can't add that at the table!

So, if winter shows it's nasty face again in Cleveland - find out when Kalie's will next be featuring the Chicken Paprikash and get yourself a bowl to play with. You will not be disappointed!

Fun Playing with Aaron Miller's Grass Fed Beef

We have recently been fortunate enough to sample some wares from local farmer and Slow Food Terra Madre delegate Aaron Miller, on our own grill. Unfortunately, Miller Livestock has no website that I can find. I did find this info, which I'll share with you:

Miller Livestock is located in northeastern Ohio about 30 minutes from Youngstown. We strive to produce high quality beef, pork, chicken, lamb and turkey on clean, chemical-free pasture.

Beef is available nearly year-round, but spring and fall are the best time to purchase meat because the grass is the sweetest at these times. We sell beef by the half or quarter, as well as individual cuts and ground meat. Lamb and hogs are available summer and fall with greatest availability in the fall. Fresh chicken is available early June, September, and later in October. Turkeys are available throughout the fall or can be held for Thanksgiving. White and brown eggs from free-range laying hens are plentiful year-round.

Visitors are welcome—please call ahead. We welcome your inspection of our farm and look forward to meeting you.

Miller Livestock, Aaron Miller and Family, 9590 Kinsman-Pymatuning Road, Kinsman OH 44428. (330) 876-5655. E-mail: kins3yr@aol.com

We have been enjoying his eggs, which have yolks as yellow as our beloved Blue Eggs. Our first meat dinners were a package of hamburgers. We seasoned them simply with salt and pepper, and grilled them.










Simply delicious. And don't be fooled by the size of the "bun" - it's actually a bagel. The only delivery system Bob could think of when Mustard Seed was out of buns.

We later sampled a package of melt-in-your-mouth steaks; judging by the shape of the bone, I'd guess they were rib steaks.





Simply fabulous! Miller's Livestock is definitely recommended for playing with grass fed beef and eggs - as well as chicken and lamb, which we've also tasted at restaurant events.