Beau's on the River
 Akron, Ohio        Date of Visit  08/26/12       http://www.3pointrestaurant.com/ 

Beau’s Grille has been on the list for a while, we haven’t made it yet, but there is a new outpost in the Falls where Steph and I have been driving in to work together and checking out some new local spots. Taking over for the now defunct Italian Piatto Novo in the Sheraton Suites, Beau’s On The River is the target for the day. Headed down the steps we find the restaurant is not open but they are serving the bar menu in the lounge. We are already there so we are going to settle.
 

The Closed Restaurant Is Down The Stairs, The Lounge To The Left
 

Each part of the whole trip was promise interrupted by a fatal flaw of varying intensity which dashed the promise to bits. The interior looks very well appointed and not bad in the lounge. The first flaw was the ambiance. TV’s with sound, music playing in the background and the sound check of the keyboard player aimlessly noodling around to prepare for later in the evening (who BTW wears hearing aids and couldn’t hear the banshee shrieking feedback coursing through the restaurant) any of the three would suffice but all four competing noises together were unsettling.

The service was better than anything else we experienced. This was the portion of the afternoon which was unmarred by a specific problem. The bartender started us off but a server followed up and both were well trained and seemed interested in our experience. The new kitchen staff seems to be lagging on the learning curve.
 

We ordered a wedge salad, wings, lobster bisque and a hummus wrap. Each had significant promise but each was also hampered by a significant flaw. The wedge was the least blemished. The wedge of lettuce came with chopped egg, tomato, bacon and bleu cheese…classic combination. At least the classic sides were included unlike our recent trip to Benders. The dressing was unimpressive and left the salad wanting,  but the error would be outdone by far. The wings sang out like Odysseus’ sirens but there were rocks on the horizon. A lovely cup of super chunky bleu cheese was a plus, first fried and then charred on the grill gave them a layered texture and flavor, but then there was the sauce. Or was there. Three of the dozen wings showed any evidence of sauce at all. The wings were okay dry but once you lucked into one with a spicy and vinegary sauce made the others pale. A flaw by omission.
 

Steph was excited by a recommended lobster bisque but the blunders continued here. For her, I will say she doesn’t like loads of green anything in anything. She tried to pick out the onion but there was green in every molecule. I don’t mind the green but good lord, is it an onion or lobster bisque? I was surprised how much I enjoyed the shrooms in the bisque, what troubled me was the lobster itself. A show of luxury, the lobster is the money in the dish. The broth was more creamy than lobster but there were discernible bits of sea bug floating in it. Problem being, some were tender and fresh and some were bubble gum-chewy and had an odor and taste of ammonia. That = unfresh. If you get a bite of unblemished lobster the sherry and broth just barely overcome the dairy. If you get a bite of less than fresh it sours the whole mess. Flawed again, big time.
 

I ordered the hummus wrap which appeared with a pickle and slaw. Lightly healthier. Back on the wagon. It wasn’t horrible but it was tragically flat. My homemade hummus has so much lime and garlic and sriracha it might make your eyeballs smack together. I don't expect that out but this version was the complete opposite. I tried dipping it in the bleu cheese dressing from the wings which didn’t suffice. Then I added a bit of slaw which gave a bit of acid and crunch that the wrap was sorely lacking.

The restaurant and bar both sit atop a spectacular view of why Cuyahoga Falls is called Cuyahoga Falls. Today it had its own flaw, just like everything else at Beau’s. In the center of the picturesque view lay the carcass of a deer who had apparently fallen to its demise from the rocks above. Flaw, flaw, flaw. I hope for them they work things out. Maybe we will try the Grille to see if its growing pains or endemic flaws. It is a new place, we were there during off hours but if Beau's wants to keep both places open in the long run some attention to details will be vital.