Still Interesting Inside

Not A Homerun
 

The Pierogies Weren't Made Here
 

You Can Find A Better Corned Beef In Town
 

Gasoline Alley
 Akron, Ohio        Date of Visit  03/05/11              No Known Website

We used to eat lunch at this place every once and a while when Steph’s office was right across the street. It’s been some time but we were sailing by and starving so it was an easy decision. The space is restricted in the building with few seats available and the seats that are there are very close to one another. Of course we stopped in just before noon on a weekday expecting a crowd of people just inside the door watching everyone eat. We lucked out and got there just before the lunch crush and got a table while the gathering horde watched us eat. The hostess appeared befuddled and a little discombobulated. Once we found our way to the table we were turned over to a young guy with a shaggy hair cut that turned the service around. He was easy and laid back with all of the tables around us, chatting, checking in, making suggestions…but the second he left the table he was on the dash to take care of whatever might be needed at the moment. All the way around he did a really nice job.
 

My eye was summoned to the specials board where there were some interesting options. The soup of the day was a creamy Reuben…well, there just wasn’t a question about that. The regular menu also had one of our traditional favs, the fried zucchini…done and done. To the apps we added a couple of sandwiches which I have always gotten at the Alley. They have other stuff…pizza, meals, etc. but I have yet to try one. The sandwiches have always been enough for me. Now that I think about it I don’t know that I have ever seen anyone else eating anything but a sandwich or salad here. Now I am curious. I suppose I should have tried something new. I will on our next visit. Anyways. Steph ordered the roast beef sandwich off of the regular menu. She has been waiting for one since our visit to Taggarts when they had run out for the night. The special sandwich for the day was a Cuban, I should have been paying better attention, it came with o-rings. Way too much food, even for fat dudes. I ordered water…next time I go back I will go with something else. The water here is ghastly.

The soup hit the table and we were both curious. Creamy Reuben? While it was much milder in flavor than either of us had expected the soup did have all of the components from corned beef to thousand island. It could have used some punching up in the flavor department but if you are a Reuben fan but they are often too Reubeny for you…this would be made in heaven. The zucchini were tasty. They cut the planks really thick here but have found a happy medium in the frying where they are screaming hot, done through, but still retain some texture. The only issue I have had with these is the breading appears to be wonderfully seasoned but there is little if any. The only thing they add to the veggie is texture, but it is enough to order them again.

The sandwiches were next. The roast beef was tasty but it was a bit dry and certainly boring. The menu stated it came with a horseradish sauce. If there was any on it you would have to measure the slick in microns. I’m sure the complaint they get most often is too much horseradish and the easiest fix is always to little…but you should be able to taste it. Steph had our friendly and efficient server add a cup on the side and it was a definite improvement. The Cuban was simply awesome. Great roll, thin slightly crisp slices of ham, big well seasoned chunks of pork, thick pickles, yellow mustard, everything I could have hoped for. The only one’s I have had better have been in South Florida. It was however,  much more than I could eat. Given the side of onion rings and the apps I took almost the entire sandwich home and I still needed help to finish it for lunch the next day. The onion rings were good but had the same disappointing lack of seasoning that they seem to advertise by sight alone.

Unable to possibly consider cramming another single molecule of food into our gullets, but having seen the green creaminess upon our arrival we took a slice of Key Lime Cheesecake to go. It like most of our other tastes today had every flavor you would be looking for, just in an understated approach. If that is your thing…don’t miss the Gasoline Alley, just avoid the Cuban. If you like aggressive flavors the Cuban is just what you are looking for. More on the rest of the menu, someday.
 

A Cuban that Explains Why Pork Exists