Some Other Ohio Foods For Thanksgiving

Belgrade Gardens where it all started

Hot sauce, sweet cole slaw, fries and Barberton Chicken cooked in lard

A Barberton Chicken Sign

With Thanksgiving just around the corner we thought we might look at some other foods unique to Ohio.

 In Toledo its Tony Packo’s Hungarian Hot Dogs made famous by Jamie Farr in the TV Series M.A.S.H..  Cincinnati has it’s famous Cincinnati Chili and here in northeastern Ohio there is Barberton Chicken.

 There’s no secret recipe about the chicken.  It’s just large hunks of fresh chicken that has been deep-fried in pure lard until it is golden brown.  Usually no special spices are added, just some salt and pepper, and very little of that.  The real secret to Barberton Chicken is not in the chicken, but in the lard and the hot rice that accompanies it.

 Barberton Chicken, most folks in Barberton agree, got it’s start back in the 1930’s at a restaurant called “The Belgrade Gardens” in Barberton. I tasted my first Barberton Chickien several years ago at Milich Village Inn in Norton.  Owner Dale Milich told me  his mother was working for a Serbian Family by the name of  Topalsky in 1935 when they bought the first small tavern that would become Belgrade Gardens Restaurant.  They introduced their customers to a chicken and rice dish that was Serbian in origin, but with a few new ingredients.   

  Dale says the real secret ingredient is the lard that it is cooked in.  Also the reason this chicken stands out is that real Barberton Chicken is always made with fresh, never frozen, chicken and all the ingredients for the dishes that go with it are made from scratch as much as possible.  For example, fresh, not frozen potatoes are used in the French Fries and the sauce, well, that’s still a closely held secret by each restaurant, who have developed their own variations.  But, it’s essentially a dish we all ate in public school called, “Spanish Rice,”  At least, that’s what it looks like.  It’s a tomato sauce base with other herbs and ingredients poured over white rice.  Some make it spicier than others.  According to Dale Milich Barberton Chicken just tastes like chicken should taste, “there is no other spices or ingredients to take away from the true chicken flavor.”  Dale should know, his family has been associated with just about every restaurant in the Barberton area that sells true “Barberton Chicken”.  He speaks highly of his competition.  “We all use the same fresh chicken and ingredients”, he says,  “ That’s why there isn’t too much difference in the taste between restaurants.”  But what about the sauce?  Ah, well there is a difference.

  Each restaurant has their own combination of spices and condiments that they use to flavor the rice side-dish that makes Barberton Chicken unique.  Today there are at least a half-dozen restaurants in the Barberton, Norton, Cuyahoga Falls area that serve “authentic” Barberton Chicken.  Some people tell me they have tried all of them, just to compare the different hot sauces.  Now that sounds like a fun One Tank Trip.

 You can still have Barberton Chicken at the place it originated:  Belgrade Gardens, 401 E. State Street, Barberton.  330-745-0113

EnterTRAINment Junction A new Ohio Attraction

The aisles take you back and forth through the huge display

There is a 50’s era amusement park funhouse with a mirror maze

On a hillside you can see a tiny mining town

The lobby of EnterTRAINment Junction has a Disneyesque look

If you look closely you can see a real fire on the mountain in the upper right

EnterTRAINment Junction is housed in an old furniture warehouse

There is a special area for small children to play

The massive display covers the size of five basketball courts

The tiny car show even has trophies for winners

In the Saturday, November 14th edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer I have a story about an incredible model train display..Here is part of the story……

This Ohio Road Trip is a must for anyone who has ever had an electric train or a fascination with railroading.  It is billed as the “Largest Indoor Train Display in the World” and after you spend a couple of hours walking around its miles of track you will agree that the claim is no exaggeration.

 EnterTRAINment Junction is the brainchild of Don Oeters, a model train hobbyist, who, after a successful business career, has turned his energies toward creating a train-themed tourist destination in this Cincinnati Suburb.

 What was once a huge furniture warehouse has been converted into a Disney-like structure that features several train-related attractions under one roof.

 As you enter the building you find yourself in a replica of a small-town American village of the 1890’s.  Old-fashioned street lights line a cobblestone street that leads to a train station.  The street is lined by stores that offer train-related hobby material and food, all disguised with facades from another era.

 The main attraction is the exhibition hall where the massive model train display is running.  For starters the trains are all “G” Gauge, sometimes known as “Garden Trains”.  Each car is about the size of a loaf of bread and the scenery, buildings, cars, trees and people are all modeled in the same scale.  The display covers 25 thousand square feet which means it’s nearly the size of five NBA Basketball Courts. 

 There are winding aisles that wander back and forth across the display tracing the nearly two miles of tiny railroad tracks that wend their way through man-made mountains, tunnels, past rivers and lakes and beside a towering 11 foot tall waterfall.  At any given time there are over 1,200 railroad cars making up some 90 trains that are running, circling the display, crossing bridges and trestles, passing through tunnels and whistling through small villages.  The trains can be seen mostly at a waist-high level but they also soar up to 11 feet above the walkway in some of the mountain exhibits.

……You can read the rest of the story in the Nov. 14th Plain Dealer or on their website at www.cleveland.com

 

 

The Buckeye Book Fair

Fisher Auditorium in Wooster where Buckeye Book Fair is held

David Gray, publisher and Rob Lucas, editor at Gray &Co., Publishers at BBF

Part of crowd at Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster

“Big Chuck” Schodowski and Antques Expert Terry Kovel signing books

Photographer Ron Kuntz talking with Neil Zurcher at Buckeye Book Fair

The Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster, Ohio is over for this year, but mark your calendar for the first Saturday in November in 2010.  It is well worth the trip to Wooster if you love books.

 I spent the day there Saturday, November 7^th signing the new 2^nd edition of my book “Ohio Road Trips” that was just released in late October.

 The Buckeye Book Fair is the largest literary event in Ohio each year.  Since 1987 over one thousand authors with an Ohio connection have appeared at the annual day-long event to greet their fans and sign their books.  So far over 187 thousand books have been sold at the book fair.

 This year was no exception I joined my former colleague from Fox 8 TV, Chuck “Big Chuck” Schodowski who was on hand to sign his memoirs that were just published this year.   Famed AP Photographer Ron Kuntz was also there with a recent book with some of his best photographs.  The legendary Ohio Photographer Ian Adams had books and calendars with his work for sale.  Also attracting long lines at the signing table was Antiques guru Terry Kovel.  Other authors who specialize in children’s books, nature and animals, as well as novelists were also there.

 The event is held in the Ohio State University Agriculture Research Facilitiy in the Fisher Auditorium.

 The crowds are always very big, so come early.

 The Buckeye Book Fair is sponsored by the Wooster Book Company, you can visit them at their website www.buckeyebookfair.com

 

Canton, Football and Tradition

These booths have been in use at Taggart’s Ice Cream since 1922

Hams slow cook at Kennedy’s Barbecue

Kennedy’s Barbecue only seats about 35 people

Owner Ernie Schott putting hams on spit at Kennedy’s Barbecue

A smoked ham sandwich with Jack Kennedy Sauce at Kennedy’s Barbecue

Taggart’s signature ice cream specialty “The Bittner”

Taggart’s Ice Cream Parlour a tradition since 1922

 In the Saturday, October 31st edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer I have a story about Canton, Football and tradtion.  Here is an excerpt:

Since we are in the midst of autumn that means football season is here and what better place to get in the spirit of the season than a trip to the city where professional football was born.

 I am reminded of a line from the play “Fiddler on the Roof” when I take an Ohio Road Trip to Canton to visit the NFL Football Hall of Fame and to stop at two of my favorite eating places: Taggart’s Ice Cream Parlor and Kennedy’s Barbecue. 

 The line goes, “…Its tradition!”

 Both eating spots are a tradition in Canton.  Taggart’s first opened its door in 1922, the same year the Professional Football owners gathered in this Ohio town to form what became the NFL.

 Legend has it that football immortal Jim Thorpe, who played for the Canton Bulldogs, enjoyed the home-made ice cream at Taggarts while sitting in the same wooden booths that have been in the building for nearly 90 years.  It is a well-established fact that founder of the American Football League, Lamar Hunt, would yearly bring new inductees to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton to Taggarts and treat them to a house- specialty, “The Bittner”, named for a long-ago local baseball team that wanted a really thick ice cream drink.

 The Bittner is a sort-of milkshake, made with three-quarters of a pound of home-made vanilla ice cream,  topped with Taggarts own chocolate sauce and beaten until it reaches a liquid consistency.  Then, a handful of fresh roasted pecans are added to the mixer and the whole thing is capped with whipped cream and a cherry.  Some of the Hall of Fame members, like Bob St.Clair of the San Francisco Giants and Hall of Famer and sports broadcaster Dan Dierdorf, have become regular customers over the years whenever they are in Canton.

 Taggart’s is located at 1401 Fulton Road, NW in Canton.  They can also be reached at 330-452-6844.

 It is much the same story at another Canton Landmark, Kennedy’s Barbecue, a tiny restaurant on 4^th street across from Monumental Park.  It was begun in the early 1920’s and has also hosted Hunt as well as a more infamous hall of famer, O.J. Simpson.  The restaurant can seat about 35 people when the counter, table and booths are filled.

 The big attraction at Kennedy’s is the smoked meat and their home-made relish.  There is a small smokehouse behind the kitchen and they daily slow-cook and smoke hams and pork roasts.  The menu is a simple one:  Sliced smoked ham, pork, beef or turkey sandwiches, topped with “Jack Kennedy’s Relish”, a secret recipe that includes finely ground up cabbage, mustard and peppers. The only two soups on the menu are their homemade bean soup or chili.  There is home-made Amish pie and ice cream for dessert.

……You can read the entire story in the October 31st Plain Dealer or on their website at: www.cleveland.com

Spooky Things To Do At Halloween

The funeral arrangements for Elvis Presley’s Mother, Gladys Presley

Visitation book from Yankee General Mgr Casy Stengel Funeral

Accordion and iconic picture from President Roosevelt’s Funeral

Funeral Home owner John Herzig standing in front of his Funeral Collection in Dover, Ohio

Dover Ohio is home to one of the most unique collections in the state.  The John Herzig Funeral Memorabilia Collection.  And it is located in a funeral home.  Herzig tells me that it started out as an autograph collection.  His first find was an autograph from former Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis.  When he received the autograph the previous owner also included a copy of the program from Louis’ funeral in 1981.  A new hobby was born. 

 Today Herzig has over a thousand pieces of funeral memorabilia.  Much of it on display at his funeral home in downtown Dover.  Included in the collection is the accordion believed to have been the one played by Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson in the iconic photograph of the funeral of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945.   The famous photo of a Coast Guardsman with tears running down his cheeks playing his accordion as the President’s body went by.   Also included in the collection is the original paperwork for the funeral of Gladys Presley, Elvis Presley’s mother;  The visitation log from the funeral of former Yankee Manager Casey Stengel as well as mourning vests worn by officials in the funeral of former President William McKinley.  The collection is open to the public during business hours at the funeral home.

 John Herzig Funeral Collection, Toland-Herzig Funeral Home, 803 N. Wooster, Dover, Ohio 44622, 330-343-6132, www.tolandherzig.com