The Hartville Kitchen
 Hartville, Ohio         Date of Visit  04/30/11            http://www.hartvillekitchen.com/ 

If you have read about our super secret dining locale you know how much I love it. The only problem with it is we can only get in there once a year or so. How are we ever to get our old world fix in the meantime? There are options the first of which is the Hartville Kitchen. To just call it a kitchen is actually ridiculous. This is a sprawling compound of shopping and eating. This place is huge and we got our first glimpse of the six acre hardware store that is currently evolving between the restaurant and the mall. The interior is just plain weird. Being Amish based…I think it is…there are art pieces on the walls of people using hand tools in the field…but the doors open automatically. The servers all wear skirts (the females at least) but half of them have wireless earpieces which I’m assuming connect them with someone other than God.
 

Salad = Okay  -  Dressings = Awesome

The restaurant itself is enormous, it easily seats hundreds simultaneously. And it is always full. We arrived at two o clock and there is still a line weaving through the waiting area. The service is certainly adequate and efficient but it does take on a very mechanical feel. At times the place makes me feel like I am one of the unfortunates making their way through the stockyard…soon to become dinner. Their menu is described as home style and it certainly lives up to the name. You order a plate based on protein and then add three sides. There are only a few entrees but many sides available. This day Steph went with the chicken and I opted for the roast beef. The chicken was a bit dry today but still delicious with a crisp crust and plenty of it. The roast beef is awesome. Super beefy and there is no way I would ever order it without the mashed potatoes. Homemade, with just a hint of chunk left to let you know, which they fill with a well developed and beefy gravy that does make me think of home. Just delicious! I started with the broccoli cheese soup which has noodles similar to the thin ribbons that came with the roast beef. All in all super. Steph had a salad and mac-n-cheese both of which were fine…but if it were me I would do the roast beef with mash and gravy for all three sides…so bad. They do market their salad dressings for a reason though, thick and super rich they really make the salad standout.
 

Lastly, regardless of how full you might be, you need to do dessert. At the Hartville kitchen dessert means pie. They have lots of pie. Whatever variety sounds good to you is a can’t miss. Superior crust and stupendous fillings are a hallmark of the Hartville Kitchen. Steph went with the coconut cream and just muttered quietly to herself until every morsel was gone. I had the Black raspberry which had a slew of berries packed between the super flaky crust!  MMMMmmmmmm! I didn’t talk at all. The Hartville Kitchen may not have the real home feel of our super secret dining and it may be much more businesslike than friendly, but if you are looking for really good “homey” food and great pie they will certainly make you pleased with your choice.  

What kind of pies can you get? Well...

 BANANA • COCONUT • LEMON • BUTTERSCOTCH • BLACK RASPBERRY CREAM • CHOCOLATE • CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER RAISIN CREAM • APPLE • DUTCH APPLE • CHERRY • CHERRY CRUMB • BLUEBERRY • BLACK RASPBERRY • RHUBARB CRUMB • PEACH  CUSTARD • PECAN • PUMPKIN • VANILLA PEANUT BUTTER • FRESH STRAWBERRY • SUGAR FREE APPLE AND CHERRY (No Sugar Added)