The Old Canal Smokehouse

by Zach Schwartz

Google “Chillicothe, Ohio,” and you’ll find countless photos of old churches, extensive flatlands, parallel streets and farm country. By no means is it the thriving metropolis of Ohio, but it sure is one of the leaders in Southeastern Ohio.

Chillicothe’s downtown is beautiful in the fall. The drive down Route 50 through the yellow, orange and red of the autumn woods leads you right into the town, where those parallel roads form the center of the 213-year-old settlement. And one of the first sights you’ll see is Old Canal Smoke House.

This place draws you right in. Situated on the corner of Water and Mulberry Streets, the old-style hotel look-alike sits next to The Dock at Water Gathering Place, the Chillicothe Body Shop, Wallpaper n’ More and the Candlelight Bridal Shop—all of which are brick, just like most of the other structures lining the streets

It’s a modern place (founded in 2006) that doesn’t have much flash when you walk in. A decently sized bar sits off to the right before you enter the dining room area, which looks a lot like your mom’s kitchen at home. The tables are covered with crimson tablecloths and surrounded by black chairs. It is a very homey—until you taste their barbeque sauce.

Two bottles of the splendid succulence that is Old Canal Smoke House’s sauce sit off to the side of your table, just begging you to have a taste. Ketchup-based and given a kick by special spices, the sweet and spicy sauce is the best, but the original is tasty by itself as well.

As my friend and I sit down, we pour some of the sauce on a plate, swirl our fingers in it and put it to our mouths. Soon, we have to tell the waitress we need a few minutes to order since we’ve been too busy eating sauce by the spoonful to look at the menu.

We finally decide on two of the specials—a platter of flatbread topped with pork brisket, mushrooms, cheese and barbeque sauce; and a pizza made with pulled pork, banana peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, onions and more barbeque sauce. As wonderful of a selection as it turned out to be, other options piqued our interest as well—pulled pork platters and barbeque ribs and chicken make a good $12 dinner, while the buffalo burger and spicy “pig chips,” topped with jack cheese and bacon seemed to make for a filling lunch.

Piled high, the two platters filled our stomachs in no time, and a pizza-sized box fit the leftovers. Chillicothe may have been around since 1796, but this three-year-old smoke house fits right in.

Marietta Brewing Company, Marietta OH

Marietta Brewing Company

by Jaclyn Boland

Walking around in downtown Marietta, the wood-rimmed vats sitting in the large front windows of the Marietta Brewing Company caught my eye. I walked inside and the high ceilings drew attention to the steel pipes above. The wooden bar sits right inside the door with locals sipping on their favorite brew. After the drive, I headed straight back for the bathroom and walked past a row of double stacked kegs of their homebrewed beer.

I picked up the menu and looked straight at the list of “handcrafted beers”. They have a master brewer, Kelly Sauber, who uses fresh ingredients to brew tasty and flavorful beers. I began salivating like Pavlov’s dog. The Raspberry Wheat caught my attention. I love raspberries and beer, what a perfect combination! The server quickly brought it over and with the first sip, my taste buds were instantly satisfied. The balance of the beer was overtaken by the fruity raspberry flavor. The microbrew wasn’t as crisp as I was expecting. It was smooth and felt more like I was drinking a juice than microbrew but that didn’t stop me from drinking the entire glass and contemplating a second.

My taste buds were satisfied, but my stomach wasn’t. The food on the menu sounded delicious. I could have eaten just about anything. The salads seemed to call to me, as I haven’t had a decent one in months. But to start I ordered a cup of the French onion soup. I am a big fan of French Onion soup mainly for the Provolone cheese. It was cheesy but I would have liked to see more.

Then came my salad. It had green beans, bib lettuce, blue cheese, almonds and a wine vinaigrette dressing. Delish. But I wasn’t fully satisfied as the waiter asked about dessert. My stomach was saying no but my taste buds egged me on. After the Chocolate Thunder arrived, I knew I was in cake heaven. It was a triple layer chocolate cake that I struggled to finish.

Overall, the Marietta Brewing Company not only offered handcrafted and tasty beers but a hearty meal. Evidence of their brewing machines act not only as decoration but demonstrate their prized skill: brewing beer.

Clay Haus

by Samantha Pirc,

At the Clay Haus in Somerset, Ohio, German favorites are served up alongside typical American cuisine, all with a side of history.

Owner Betty Snider named the restaurant after her father, Irwin Priest Clay, and as a tribute to her husband’s Pennsylvanian Dutch heritage that is also deeply ingrained in the area. Her son Scott now manages the Clay Haus, which specializes in typical German fare like Bratwurst and Sauerbraten with cabbage, while serving more traditional American meals given a German-esque twist such as their “Dermeister-Burger” or “Der Meisterham”(the master burger and ham, respectively). German style potato salad and the Reuben sandwich are popular favorites says Scott, and the Sunday brunch buffet is always packed. Another dish, the corned beef, is both cooked and sliced on site, giving it more of a home-style flavor unique to the restaurant. More of a dessert man, Scott recommends any of the homemade pies to finish off a meal. After working at the family-run restaurant since 1979, he claims confidently, and with a laugh, that of all the dishes served, “Everything’s good.”

Almost as intriguing as the menu is the Clay Haus building and the history that surrounds it. The restaurant is located in a 19^th century home, with the original deed of sale proudly displayed on the wall. Unlike many old homes, where the line of ownership is lost along the years, the Snider family can trace back the Somerset residents who called the building home from the original sale in 1812 to their purchasing of the building in 1978. Artifacts discovered during the renovations made by the Snider family are proudly displayed for patrons viewing along with other antiques, making the restaurant a destination for diners and history buffs alike.

The basement, which is now the Tavern room, tells a story about the history of both the town and the building. It contains full-sized windows and doors that open up to a solid wall of foundation brick and stones. Long ago the room opened directly onto street, but as the street was built up with paving bricks the outside entrance had to bricked up as well to level off the road. The Tavern, like the rest of the restaurant, is decorated with Pennsylvanian Dutch antiques, painting and memorabilia, giving the entire place a warm old-world feel.

The warm feeling of the restaurant sharply contrasts with the spooky chill that diners can sometimes get. The Clay Haus has numerous documentations of unseen visitors and bumps late at night that the Snider family has gotten used to over the years. Scott explains that the building has more of a presence than a haunting, and that as he has aged and spent more time at the Clay Haus the spooky feelings have lessened.

The restaurant was featured in "Ghost Hunter's Guide to Haunted Ohio," by Chris Woodward, and Scott says that although he has definitely felt a presence numerous times, the only time he has actually seen a ghost was the day Woodward came for an interview. He describes being in the kitchen and seeing a small girl in frumpy cloth smiling and waving furiously at him. When he stepped to the side to get a better look the girl was gone. “It was like she wanted me to see her,” says Scott.

Like the little girl waving to Scott in the kitchen, any spirits that may occupy the restaurant have always been described as friendly, so diners should not let butterflies in their stomach overcome the hunger that Clay Haus can satisfy. The potential of sharing a meal with an unseen guest in the historic atmosphere is worth it, especially when the meal is full of the delicious home-style cooking and fresh-from-the-oven pies served up daily at the Clay Haus.

For more information, including a full menu, check out www.clayhaus.com

Etta's Lunchbox Cafe

by Jessica Will

Etta’s Lunchbox Café combines my two favorite things: homemade food and random collectibles. While food is an obvious love for many people, my love of collectables is personal. I have collected everything from decorative socks to beanie babies, so when I found a restaurant with a massive collection of lunchboxes I had to visit and of course I had to drag my boyfriend along. So we hooked up the GPS and put in the coordinates for Etta’s Lunchbox Café. Located on State Route 56 between New Plymouth and Starr, Etta’s is in a remote area surrounded by residential housing and farms. Even though we were the only car in the gravel parking lot and neither one of us had cell phone service we bravely ventured into Etta’s.

Etta’s is located inside an old but still functioning general store. The outside of the one-story building is brick with a fenced in part of the land filled with llamas and a wandering rooster patrolling the front door. Avoiding the rooster we walked through the front door and were warmly greeted by, Tim, the gracious host. We had our choice of tables since we were the only people in the place. We picked a tall table and took in our surroundings while waiting for Tim to grab menus for us.

The inside of the building is divided into three distinct areas. The front of the building is the general store complete with various items a gas station would have like batteries, chips and band-aids. All the tables are located in this part of the building as well. Etta’s kitchen is located up a few stairs in the back while the lunchbox museum is located in a separate room with the entrance next to the sliding-door drink coolers.

Tim came back with menus containing “fresh, wholesome and nutritional meals.” The menu included sandwiches, subs and home-made pizzas. There was traditional fare like Philly steak, pizza sub and grilled cheese, but there were also non-traditional items like the Hobo Ham Steak, a one-inch thick bologna sautéed in onion. Every sandwich came with chips and a pickle. I ordered the meatball sub containing home-made meatballs, marinara and cheese. My boyfriend ordered the Etta Club- honey ham, smoked turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo.

After he took our orders, Tim told us to look around the place and browse the lunchbox museum. The room was lined from floor to ceilings with hundreds of vintage food containers and various vintage children’s toys. The lunchboxes ranged from traditional plaid hard-cased boxes with matching thermoses to popular television shows throughout the decades. I immediately found my childhood lunchbox- My Little Pony while my boyfriend discovered his long-lost G.I. Joe lunchbox. Tim found us amidst the lunchboxes to tell us our food was ready at our table.

My meatball sub was delicious. Two large home-made meatballs and overflowing marina and melted cheese, it was a little messy but still absolutely delightful. My boyfriend devoured his Etta Club. Although we were both satisfyingly full I like to push the limits of my stomach so I ordered a slice of apple pie- a la mode. I ordered it with plain vanilla ice cream but Tim suggested maple cinnamon walnut ice cream instead. I took his advice- the name alone made my mouth water.

The combination of warm apple pie and the complimentary maple cinnamon walnut ice cream was heavenly. I cleaned my plate and was very tempted to lick it since it was such a delectable dessert.

Shortly after we paid our bill, $18 for two drinks, two sandwich meals and pie. We left full and went into a food coma to nap off our meals.

Marietta Brewing Company, Marietta OH

by Jaclyn Boland

Walking around in downtown Marietta, the wood-rimmed vats sitting in the large front windows of the Marietta Brewing Company caught my eye. I walked inside and the high ceilings drew attention to the steel pipes above. The wooden bar sits right inside the door with locals sipping on their favorite brew. After the drive, I headed straight back for the bathroom and walked past a row of double stacked kegs of their homebrewed beer.

I picked up the menu and looked straight at the list of “handcrafted beers”. They have a master brewer, Kelly Sauber, who uses fresh ingredients to brew tasty and flavorful beers. I began salivating like Pavlov’s dog. The Raspberry Wheat caught my attention. I love raspberries and beer, what a perfect combination! The server quickly brought it over and with the first sip, my taste buds were instantly satisfied. The balance of the beer was overtaken by the fruity raspberry flavor. The microbrew wasn’t as crisp as I was expecting. It was smooth and felt more like I was drinking a juice than microbrew but that didn’t stop me from drinking the entire glass and contemplating a second.

My taste buds were satisfied, but my stomach wasn’t. The food on the menu sounded delicious. I could have eaten just about anything. The salads seemed to call to me, as I haven’t had a decent one in months. But to start I ordered a cup of the French onion soup. I am a big fan of French Onion soup mainly for the Provolone cheese. It was cheesy but I would have liked to see more.

Then came my salad. It had green beans, bib lettuce, blue cheese, almonds and a wine vinaigrette dressing. Delish. But I wasn’t fully satisfied as the waiter asked about dessert. My stomach was saying no but my taste buds egged me on. After the Chocolate Thunder arrived, I knew I was in cake heaven. It was a triple layer chocolate cake that I struggled to finish.

Overall, the Marietta Brewing Company not only offered handcrafted and tasty beers but a hearty meal. Evidence of their brewing machines act not only as decoration but demonstrate their prized skill: brewing beer.

Ten Questions with Backbone

by Will Cooper

To outsiders Cambridge, Ohio seems like quiet place. Who would think that amongst the sparsely populated city and Appalachian Plateau rages the sound of distorted guitars or the beat of pummeling drums? I mean, Cambridge is certainly not New York City, Los Angeles or anywhere else that is synonymous with exciting new music. However, just underneath the surface lies a burgeoning community of young and old musicians creating riotous sounds out of love and passion. One of these groups is Backbone, a veteran rock band channeling the same formula that led bands such as Nickleback to the top of the Billboard Charts.

I discovered Backbone the way many young people find new music today: the Internet. After spending hours scrolling through a myriad of Southeastern Ohio rap, metal and indie; I was taken back by the familiarity of Backbone’s sound. Immediately after hearing the first chord, I could imagine them hopping around on stage in some small bar in Cambridge to a sleepy crowd of regulars sipping on Coors draft beer.

Backbone is a three-piece outfit comprised of Mark Rossiter, vocals and guitar; Denny “Coondog” Coon, vocals and bass; and Dave “Smack” Eibel, vocals and dums. The members became close friends while growing up in Cambridge and attending at Meadowbrook High School. Since then, they have played off and on while simultaneously starting families and maintaining “real” jobs. Since their inception they have released one full-length album and they consistently perform in and out of state spreading their music listener by listener.

Interested by their local prominence within Cambridge and their ability to deal with the dregs of the real world while still performing in a band, I decided to talk with Backbone’s low end chief, Denny Coon, via email about the past, present and future of his band.

1. Backbone met in high school. What were your first impressions of each other and how did you move from just being friends to being band mates?

Actually, Mark and Dave were neighbors. Mark and I were the same age and spent our time trying to impress the same girls. We picked up guitars around 5^th grade. Mark’s mom was always singing and playing piano and my dad played guitar, so the progression was natural. Dave used to bang on cans and boxes. Eventually, he got his first drum set.

2. How did the band come up with the name Backbone and the album title?

I’m not really sure where the name came from. The band was called Black Saddle before I rejoined. Black Saddle played country and put out a country CD called “Nowhere to Ride”, so the name “Still Nowhere” was rather fitting. Wait until you hear the name of the new one. You are sure to love it.

3. Your first album, “Still Nowhere”, sounds very well produced. Can you discuss your recording process touching on where it was recorded, how long it took and some of the methods you used?

This was recorded in the “Man Cave” studio, which is actually Marks basement. It was recorded analog then digitally put onto to a CD during the final mix. The finished product was sent to a company to be mastered. It was very painstaking process. Mark probably spent close to 4 months mixing all the tracks and comparing volumes and effects to some of our favorite CDs.

4. How are songs created? Does the band write together or do you create your own parts separately?

Mark generally comes up with the ideas, and Dave and I are at liberty to do whatever we want with our parts. We start with an idea and arrange it collectively.

5. I understand that all members of the band have fulltime jobs. How hard is it balancing professional and real-world responsibilities with performing in a band?

It is very busy at times. We went from booking every weekend to trying to every other weekend now. Dave and I are bosses where we work and Mark runs his own company, so it is important to us all to have the time to spend with our families and children.

6. Has there been a shift in your sound since you finished “Still Nowhere”?

Yes, I believe there actually has. The songs we have written for the next CD seem to be a little heavier. But we don’t really write anything to fit a certain style. As you can tell from the “Still Nowhere”, we can’t really be labeled any specific style. We just work with the songs and do what feels natural. If it turns out to be a polka, which will never happen, and we like it then that’s what we go with.

7. What is the best venue to perform at in the Zanesville/Cambridge area?

We play so many, but if I had to pick one it would have to be Shakers nightclub. It is set up like an actual venue. Eric, the owner books a lot of national acts and gives us opportunities to open for them.

8. Your songs are very riff driven. Can you name some of the guitar players of the past that have influenced the crunchy distortion used on your songs?

Mark is a George Lynch and AC/DC freak. I’m not sure he is trying to mimic their tones in any way, but the influence definitely shows.

9. How often does the band play outside of Ohio? What is the reception like?

As of late, we are trying to stay closer to home to work on the new CD. We don’t like to sit in the basement in the summer. When we do play out of state the reception has been really good. I think our originals speak for themselves and they are all songs people can relate to. A good song is a good song no matter where you play it.

10. Do you plan to record a new album?

We are in the works and have quite a few songs written for the new CD. We will be going digital on this one. Much like the other CD, we only want to present songs we believe in. No filler. However, we haven’t set a date or put pressure on ourselves. We are excited to get on it.

Cruiser's Diner

by Susannah Sachdeva

Standing alone, right off Route 32 in Seaman, Ohio is a shining silver oasis – otherwise known as Cruiser’s Diner. You would be well-advised to skip the newly-renovated McDonald’s down the road as well as the Gold Star Chili nearby because this restaurant offers all the comforts of good home-cooking in a relaxed, 50s-esque atmosphere.

I took a trip out to this little diner in the middle of nowhere on a rainy Friday afternoon and was instantly warmed upon entering the establishment. With red vinyl booths to my left and right and an old-fashioned soda counter in front of me, I quickly concluded that this restaurant was quite the quintessential 50s diner.

We were seated promptly even though there were a number of others in the foyer waiting for a booth. The waitress actually had a table of three move over a table so we could fit in. Throughout the whole process everyone (i.e. the waitress and the moving table) were making jokes and laughing, making us feel like a crowd of buddies who were reminiscing about an old memory, not strangers who were moving other people in order to fit us in.

As soon as we were seated, our waitress was quick to ask for our drink order. It wasn’t one of those rushed kind of orders where you can tell she wanted us to get in and get out as quickly as possible – but more where she wanted to make sure we got as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible.

After taking some time to look over the lengthy menu, which included breakfast food, sandwiches, burgers, milkshakes, “diner traditions”, and more, we decided upon the “Pile Up Burger” for me and an open face turkey sandwich accompanied with onion rings for my friend Jane.

I knew as soon as I ordered this was not going to be an ordinary diner visit for me. The burger I ordered would be my first legitimate burger in life thus far. I have enjoyed a nice, thin McDonald’s cheeseburger from time to time because, well, it doesn’t really taste like meat. But, this was a true burger and I took a big leap of faith by ordering it.

We sipped our drinks in anticipation of the feast ahead of us and let ourselves sink into the vinyl as we eavesdropped on the conversations of the locals. There was “business talk” to my left between two middle-aged men and there was “weekend talk” of going out and hangover cures to my right between two women and a man. It may not have been very ethical of me to listen in but that’s what diners are for – catching up on the latest gossip with old pals.

My pile up burger looked magnificent, being topped with a few of my favorite ingredients: cheese, grilled onions and bacon. And Jane’s entrée looked just as appetizing. We both dug in and were equally satisfied with our orders.

Considering this was my first “real” hamburger I’ve ordered at a restaurant, I was nervous but ended up being delightfully surprised with the results. Let’s just say my visit to Cruiser’s opened up a whole new arena of meat eating to this Ohio girl.

Although I was by no means a diner virgin before this trip, this experience further confirmed those thoughts that have been lurking in the back of my head – why aren’t diners more common? They have become diamonds in the rough in this modern world. And Cruiser’s certainly abides by that description; it is located in the middle of nowhere yet is an invaluable treat once you wander inside.