Gavins Gill and Grill - New Philadelphia, OH

The hurricane has kept me inside for the most part this week. It has been very wet and cold outside. Our office's heater was not working until late today as well so staying in my nice, warm, dry hotel room was my last two afternoons.

Tonight I ate at Gavins Gill and Grill in New Philly. It is located in the middle of down town right across from the courthouse. Just look for the building with Gavins in Jokerman font on the sign, its hard to miss. Yes they used Jokerman...  When I walked in I was immediately skeptical of my expectations of this restaurant. I have noticed that a lot of small restaurants in New Philly appear to be more bar than restaurant.  Gavins was no different; the walls were cluttered with random items, mostly witty novelty and beer signs. Gavins atmosphere was very low energy despite the loud classic rock and 90's pop mix that was blasting uncomfortably in the background.

The service was incredibly slow and impersonal which was very surprising for the few amount of patrons inside. I waited at least eight minutes to get any attention. I asked for a few minutes on my drink and ended up waiting another five for a glass of water. The food was slow coming out and I waited at least 10 minuets after finishing my meal to get the bill when the waiter walked by several times right after I was done.

On the food:
I may have set myself up for disaster on this one. The menu at Gavins was not very creative. Most of the items are sandwiches and quick foods, and the dinner menu is very limited. I ended up deciding on the Lemon Pepper Cod.

Lemon Pepper Cod

The cod was very fresh, not fishy at all, although overcooked and not well trimmed. It was well seasoned where thin, but fell a little bland on the thicker end. The portions were fairly unbalanced. The cod was small, and there was quite a bit of broccoli. Speaking of the broccoli it was overcooked and the only seasoning was a gratuitous douse of garlic powder. The rice was good, but I would argue that it came from a packet. The meal ended up being $19.40 which I think is very overpriced, granted $4.25 went to a single bottle of beer, which is way overpriced as well.

I did really want to like Gavins and plan on going back for something different. Probably a sandwich for lunch.

I am going to start a grading system for all of the restaurants. This will be the first one, but I plan on going back to the previous entries and doing the same.

Food Quality: 5.5 / 10  -  Food wasn't too bad but could have been better.
Portion Size: 6 / 10  -  Portions were unbalanced and protein was very small.
Service: 4/10  -  Server was nice, but quite slow.
Environment: 6 / 10  -  Dated
Cost: 3 / 10  -  Slightly overpriced for the item ordered and way overpriced considering quality
Overall Expectations: 7 / 10
Calculated Overall Experience: 5 / 10
Opinionated Overall Experience: 5 / 10

Rooting up a decent meal at Hog Heaven - New Philly, OH

So yesterday I spoke about nitpicking the enjoyment out of a meal. Unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights.

I ate a Hog Heaven in New Phillidelphia, Ohio. Before I get started, I do want to say that the food was good, but I felt something lacking from the overall meal. I have though, eaten quite a bit of barbecue and have formed preferences in styles which puts Hog Heaven at a disadvantage because of their preparation and barbecue style.

Hog Heaven is located right across the street from the Hampton as soon as you get off the highway into New Phillidelphia. It is a decent sized establishment with a biker bar / barbecue shack appearance. The wait staff is very friendly, although not the most watchful of their tables. The couple of tables around me as well as myself did not get much attention when glasses went empty and bills were to be paid.

I ordered a half rack of ribs which came out fairly quick. The presentation of the plate as you can see is very nice. The ribs looked fresh the, fries had just came out of the fryer, and the slaw was quite bright but ever so soggy.


First lets talk about the sides:

The battered french fries are a brand I am quite familiar with from working in the food service industry. Brew City is a good company that sells very decent quality products. I had never gotten to use the type of fries Hog Heaven had, but I am pleasantly surprised with the quality that they were.

The slaw on the other hand was a little lack luster. There wasn't anything special about this coleslaw, and there doesn't have to be, but I personally enjoy when companies add their special touch to common meal items.

Onto the ribs. The ribs were pretty good. I believe when you go to a restaurant that boasts something as their specialty, such as Primanti Bro's Sandwiches or Hog Heaven's barbecue, it is blasphemous to order something other than their specialty the first time you go. The ribs were tender, very tender. I realized fall off the bone was an understatement when I bit into the ribs and a piece of the bone fell off with it.

The pork was light and fresh tasting and the sauce, quite sweet and tangy although slightly reminiscent of ketchup. The sauce was not overpowering at all and showcased the flavor of the pork quite well.


There were no bold flavors throughout the dish and the flavor was very one note. There is something to say about moist, tender ribs, but I think Hog Heaven had a helping hand with that as well. On the menu I noticed that the pork was Hormel brand. I have noticed most Hormel products, even raw ones, are brined or cured prior to distribution. If so, Hog Heaven did a good job of taking an advantage of extra flavor and tenderness, but some would argue the "from scratch" value of their pork if so. The price was not too steep. I ended up paying right at $13 with a tip. I would rate my experience at Hog Heaven a 6.5 of 10. Nothing really stood out, but I was fairly happy with my meal.

Breakfast (and lunch) from The Daily Grind - New Philly, OH

A quick breakfast while I work from The Daily Grind in downtown New Philly.

Orange Cranberry Scone and a White Chocolate Mocha. Very good way to start the day.

The Grind also has very good lunch options and are fairly quick to boot. They are maybe a tad bit expensive for coffee and food, but still cheaper and way better than a Starbucks.

Speaking of lunch, I had some today at The Grind. I got a Spicy Turkey with Roasted Red Pepper. This was a very good sandwich. The turkey was well seasoned and came with pepper jack and fetta. The fetta really topped off this sandwich. I think this small addition as well as proper seasoning really made me like this sandwich a lot more than what I was expecting. I have eaten several lunch items here now and they all seem to have an extra touch that make them more than just a standard deli sandwich.

Bistro 131 - New Philly, OH

As a culinarian, I sometimes find it very difficult to truly, truly enjoy a meal. Knowing what could be done differently to make a meal that much better amplifies small technical flaws to the point where it can be difficult to be happy with what was ordered. Sometimes having to force yourself to step back and ignore the little things is the only way to truly appreciate the dish in front of you.

Keeping this in mind, it is great to find the deemable flawless meal. I have to say I have had two of the most memorable and perfect meals I have had in a long time here in New Phillidelphia.

I had dinner tonight at Bistro 131. Its right off the highway near all of the hotels in New Philly. This is the second time I have eaten there, and I have found both meals to be outstanding. The restaurant itself is very nice as well. The food quality and service have been very consistent. The wait and back of the house staff dress very professional, sharp, and clean, not to mention are also incredibly friendly and quite genuine. The menu has quite a range of meal selections; from sandwiches to quality entrees, anyone can find something perfect to meet their needs.  The restaurant atmosphere is very calm. Dimmed lights, black and white sharp lines and hints of warm colors throughout the restaurant make this establishment look very contemporary and ever so cozy.

Before I get to the entrees I want to note, I am a sucker for red wine vinaigrettes. The house dressing here has to be one of my top picks for the said dressing, and the bread accompanying the salad is fresh and tasty especially with the lightly herbed butter it is served with.

Beautiful and delicious

For my first visit, I ordered the Maple Glazed Atlantic Salmon. This dish was so memorable that I can still taste it. I was given a large cut of delicious salmon. It was served skin on with glazed pecans and green onions on mashed sweet potatoes and a maple sauce. The maple, pecans, and sweet potatoes tied in wonderfully with the salmon which was cooked to perfection with the most crisp and tasty skin I have ever had on a piece of fish.

I thought I had a go to meal, but I wanted to try something else and am glad I did. Tonight I ordered the Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops. It was the most amazing meal I have had in a while. The pork chops were paired with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and warm citrus infused greens.

Sorry picture doesn't do it justice. Absolutely amazing though.

Everything about this dish was amazing. So many deep robust flavors that complimented each other perfectly.  The pork chops were crisp on the outside and very moist on the inside. They were seasoned with a gratuitous amount of pepper and had a hint of sweet that made them taste like heaven. The vegetables were very flavorful and matched the dish well. The most interesting part of the dish had to be the greens on top. With a tad of lemon juice and zest they contradicted the overall direction of the dish and brought it to a higher level of flavor perfection. On a technical level I would give this dish a 9 out of 10. The cooking involved and range of flavors make this a dish I will keep coming back to time after time.

For the portion size and quality of food, I believe that this restaurant is very fairly priced (dinners range $10-15) and worth a visit. If you are driving through the area, make sure to stop off for dinner.

UPDATE

A coworker and I went back our final day in Tusc and we both got some of Bistro's mac and cheese. Both tasted amazing and I highly recommend both!

The Real McCoy - Pulled Pork, Bacon BBQ Mac and Cheese. 10 out of 10. This was amazing!








Under The Sea - Crab Meat / Seafood Mac and Cheese. Also quite tasty. I chose the McCoy and would recommend it, but if you want something a bit lighter, grab this one.

Tuscarawas Ohio

Tusc Co. Courthouse

Currently I am in New Philadelphia, Ohio. This is Tuscarawas county.

Tusc County, in east-central Ohio, was founded in 1808 and has had a few different county seats. The county seat is currently New Philadelphia. which is about 30 minutes away from Cambridge, OH which is, I feel, the closest hub to get to it easily.

I find the town to be fairly easy to navigate and there looks to be quite a bit of variety in the way of restaurants.

My favorite part of the town so far is how most of New Philly is located in densely packed sections. Most of the hotels and dining are within a block of one another. Another section is downtown, which is only a minute drive from the hotel. I haven't traveled around downtown other than working but it seems like everything is pretty close to one another as well.

My least favorite has to be the traffic. For such a small town, I feel like the roads are pretty dangerous to cross and it is tricky to get around even in a car. There have been several occasions where I have almost been run over while walking across a crosswalk with the crossing light on.

I have been here for about a week, I have had some good food already. Hopefully tomorrow I will have up my first review.

Introductions

Hello, My name is Andrew. I am a culinarian, a chef, a Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts graduate, and as profession, an abstractor.

I previously worked in the culinary industry for more than five years. I have worked in mom and pop all the way to contemporary, upscale. I graduated from the Fairmont State University and Pierpont Culinary academy in 2007 with an Associates of Applied Science in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors of Science in Hospitality Management, Business.

I have competed in cook offs and culinary competitions where I have won medals and awards with my largest accomplishment being finishing first in the Skills USA States culinary competition and going to Nationals. I have also been on several competition teams as a team member and/or also adviser and mentor.

I have been a cook, a sous chef, executive chef, manager, financing adviser,  purchasing manager, baker, waiter and about any other position you can think of in the field. I have a lot of passion for the culinary arts industry but moved away from the line of work last year. I plan to come back eventually, but for now, home cooking and enjoying food is my connection to the field.

I thought it would be fun to create a blog covering my travels and all of the places I eat. I do quite a bit of travel in my line of work and seem to make it through all of the restaurants (granted there are a few) in a town at least once before I get shipped out to the next project.

There are websites out there that allow for you to just type a restaurant's name in and get a slew of reviews and opinions of the place, but I plan to use my expertise in the culinary field to give this blog a bit of a more personal and especially, professional view on different restaurants in towns around the northeast, central US, mostly in county seats which tend to be the largest towns around a given area.

If nothing else, my intentions are to help you, the weary traveler or fellow abstractor decide where to eat tonight.

I hope to update this blog often, and that you as a reader find it to be informative and helpful to making decisions on where to eat when you're out. I hope to cover a range of restaurants from fancy to franchise looking at the food and service quality as well as atmosphere and price.