Adult Night Out

Scoring:
NYR - Not yet Reviewed
1 - poor, 2 - fair, 3 - average, 4 - good, 5 - excellent

Food: 3

Decor: 4

Service: 2.5

Cost: 3

Overall: 3.5

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Little Chicago was given some rave reviews in the local newspaper, which is why we chose to try it as well. That said, it lived up to most of the Rep’s commentary.

Let’s start with decor. Downtown Canton, which is where this bistro is located, is a dump. City officials and communities are doing their best to restore things but it’s a slow process. There’s just very little appeal to downtown right now. Little Chicago is a little bandaid on a big sore. With it’s pressed tin ceilings and dark wood it’s very comfortable. The various photos of gangsters and 20’s era celebrities adds a little flavor as well. The pub section has a large bar and a good number of big screens that patrons can watch various games on and the dining area is sectioned off by a set of large, thick glass and wood doors. It too has it’s own bar and a much more quiet atmosphere. We arrived at 6:30 (reservations are required, BTW) and it wasn’t too busy. By 8:30 when we left it was getting hard to hear, even in the dining area.

The service? Well, our waitress was doing her best but she had to be reminded a few times of things, and some things (like the iced tea - which I found to be terrible) were asked to be taken back and replaced with something drinkable. I’m sure others will comment more on this later.

The most important part - food. I ordered linguine with clams in a red sauce, sans sliced onions. I should have ordered the steak. Not that my meal wasn’t good - it was very good but Ralph makes the exact same dish, better. We had an antipasto appetizer which was a nice sized tray consisting of cubes of cheese, rounds of fresh mozzarella and cubes of meats, along with olives, peppers and a bed of lettuce garnished with what I think was Italian dressing. Very tasty. Unfortunately, when we left, we were still a little hungry and there were no dessert options on the menu.

The cost of the night came to just over $50, so a little pricey but not as much as some other place’s we’ve gone. The portions could be a little larger but then, we’re a large group of large people. Heh. Would I go back? Yeah maybe. It’s one of those once in awhile places though.

Scoring:
NYR - Not yet Reviewed
1 - poor, 2 - fair, 3 - average, 4 - good, 5 - excellent

Food: 3

Decor: 4 for the outside

Service: not rated

Cost: 3

Overall: 3.5

I sure do enjoy Adult Night Out! But….I just might have to change my routine a little. I start every Adult Night Out with a martini. As a result, I remember the beginning of the night and the end! What a light weight I am!

Harbor Inn’s bar and grill on the water was fantastic! It was a warm sunny day but there was a great breeze. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t on vacation on the shore! The bartenders were prompt and cheerful. My drink was a little expensive but it was probably the biggest martini that I have ever had!

Next comes the part about our service, the decor of the interior and how much I enjoyed my food. I just have no idea! I am told that my husband and I had Crab and Mushroom Au Gratin. ($7.99) The plate was empty and I had red sauce on my shirt so I imagine that I liked it! I had the Alaskan Snow Crab Legs and they were great! ($23.99) The crab legs were of good

quality but they were no different than the ones that I get closer to home.

For me, the time on the lake was worth the whole evening. It is what my husband and I call an “expensive night out”. Our total check was about $125.00.

Food: 3

Decor: 4

Service: 2

Cost: 2

Overall: 3

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The Harbor Inn is located in Akron Ohio, right on the Portage Lakes. The first thing that I noticed was the building itself. Its a very unique shape and there are two levels, the downstairs part is the bar and it runs along a dock where tables and chairs are seat up. Really reminded me of the islands for a moment, being on the water like that. Loved it! The upstairs is the main restaurant and it’s decorated with a maritime theme. Again, very nice. We were seated right on time. The menu isn’t as extensive as I might of liked but hosted a variety of interesting selections. I was limited to the softer side of things, due to the removal of all my wisdom teeth! So I chose a stuffed mushroom appetizer and a lobster alfredo. Ralph had a filet steak. The food was rather pricey for the quantity. We both ordered dessert as well, which we rarely have room for - though I have to say the chocolate bomb I had was really very good. Almost better than my alfredo!

The service left something to be desired. We had to ask for refills numerous times as well as other things we needed. Not sure if it was just our waitress or if they were just that busy. Either way, I was not impressed with the service. The bar was the exception to that - the bartenders seemed to be really on it and I didn’t notice people being without drinks for very long.

Overall, I would go back but only when I had the extra money to spare!

Food - 4
Decor - 3
Service - 5
Cost - 4
Overall - 4

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So, I’m a little late. On the plus side, I had an opportunity on my birthday to go back a second time with Mel. The first time around:

The atmosphere is wonderful. The decor is ethnic without being distracting and this includes the music. It’s there to enjoy but not so loud that you can’t hold a conversation. Our waitress, Rosie, was stellar. She was prompt and polite and took our (oft times) rowdy, obnoxious group in stride. It was a great change compared to our first review place. The food - amazing. It had all the top notch selections and then some that the Desert Inn has, at a fraction of the price for most things. Ralph and I shared a Sahara Appetizer Combo - we chose spanitopita (a feta and spinach filled filo dough), cheese pies, stuffed grape leaves (meat and spices). I can’t say I enjoyed the grape leaves but according to Bob, it was very authentic tasting. I had the Tour of the Sahara with Beef (read: high quality filet) Shish Kabobs. It came with a mountain of seasoned rice, potato wedges and a grecian salad. I am not overly fond of salad to begin with but I did try it. I still am not overly fond of salad. Dessert was a REALLY good, REALLY big slice of key lime cheesecake. We were a little concerned at first about the lack of patrons present, but between the food and the service that was chalked up to a fluke. Our waitress also commented that it was an abnormally slow night. The price for things was, in my opinion, very fair for the quantity and quality of food you get. Between Ralph and I we spent less than $50. Would I go back? Well now that’s a silly question.

Round Two.

Mel and I went out here for my birthday and while it wasn’t a full house, it was certainly steady. The music wasn’t obtrusive at all, same as the first time and again, the service was exceptional. Our waiter Daniel kept the drinks full and was really interesting and pleasant to talk to. I’m a nerd - I had the Tour again, same as the last time although this time I had extra rice instead of salad. Dessert was the Chocolate Bomb. For ten minutes while it was devoured, I was in chocolate heaven. Better than birthday cake! I am taking a liking to humus. This place is definitely approaching the top of my list and I will likely return here many times in the future.

Food - 4, The food was good and different that what you get at most places.
Decor - 4, The decor was very good, clean, but with a Mediterranean flavor.
Service - 5, Our waitress was great, prompt and attentive, it doesn’t get any better.
Cost - 3, Bleh. They charged for sides of things like sour cream… come on, pathetic.
Overall - 4, I liked it and would recommend it in the future.

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There aren’t a tremendous number of ethnic restaurants around this part of Ohio so I’m always thrilled to see a new one in business. The decor was lighter and more open than most of the other Mediterranean restaurants I’ve been in which tend towards a darker, more cave like feel. The food was well spiced and with a good flavor, the lamb and beef kabobs were easily on par with what I’ve gotten in other authentic Mediterranean restaurants and the presentation was good. The rice and salad were also very good although I personally prefer the Desert Inn’s salad dressing. The service was absolutely stellar– I’ve rarely had better service anywhere… the waitress was attentive but not intrusive, she kept our drinks full and made sure we had whatever we needed to make our meal just “that much better.” We’re a rowdy bunch of folks, at times we’re a bit loud even when no one has been drinking in the least, we tend to make a lot of off color jokes and in general just have a good time… as a group we’re likely to drive waitstaff mad… but she took us in stride and didn’t miss a beat. The only thing that bothered me was when I was looking over the bills and saw that they had been charging for a few of the things we asked for such as mayo and other condiments. If this was a Mom’n'Pops Diner leaving you a $7 bill… I wouldn’t have had a problem with that. This is a average priced restaurant in Belden Village however, and I don’t recall the last time I was charged for any condiment at any decent restaurant in Belden Village… hell, Bennigan’s didn’t even charge me when I didn’t like the sweet sauce that came with my Monte Cristo and asked for au-jus instead. When you’re getting more than $20 per person average, it’s pretty silly to charge for things like that. That being said, my overall rating would be excellent and I would recommend them the next time you’re heading out and want something a bit out of the ordinary.