TD's Tailgate Grill
 Canton, Ohio        Date of Visit  08/18/13       http://www.tdstailgategrill.com/  

We were headed down to Canton and the place I found a groupon for isn’t open on Sundays so I hopped on trip advisor and found a place we hadn’t heard of before and loaded in the car. I really wasn’t expecting much at all from TD’s Tailgate Grill and my expectations dropped when we pulled into the strip mall parking lot. The place was nearly empty and we were led to a table beneath more tvs than Best Buy has on the floor on Black Friday.
 

They Do Have A Couple Of TVs
 

All of the servers were obviously bored but our guy made frequent trips to the table, was really personable in a great way that strangely got forced towards the end and a couple of other folks stopped by to pick up plates etc. Service was better than expected and better than many. We ordered tailgate chili, zucchini chips, a halfback burger and fish tacos.

Steph ordered a mug of their house made rootbeer. I did not. I don’t typically like house made rootbeers. Either so sweet you taste nothing else or so watery nothing that you might as well have stuck with water. TD’s is actually pretty darn tasty, sweet, layers of moody rootiness which also manages to stay bright and light at the same time. While we were perusing the menu we saw their house libation, TD’s Tailgate Punch, their parking lot party punch which is concocted from four different flavored rums, fresh fruit juices and a little grenadine.
 

I don’t typically like rum, let alone rum drinks including Malibu (nasty coconut) but I typically don’t like house made root beers so hey. A glass that looks like a hurricane without the pedestal filled with a peachy looking frosty beverage. If I was in the mood for a sweet cocktail something like this would be right up my alley, a nice mix of both the alcohols and the fruits combine to make this thing interesting to the last sip.
 

The chili and zucchini were out really quick. The chili is good. Loads of tomato and fresh veggies with ground beef result in a very fresh and bright stew with a warm spiciness, I would have had them throw some cheese and onions on top but I forgot and they didn’t ask. Expectation exceeded. The zucchini chips were also pretty good but had what seems a flaw to me. The chips were essentially crinkle cut which resulted in lots of batter sticking to the outside which simply meant too much exterior, not crunchy, out of balance, not great. The dipping sauce had a nice bite and chunks of pickle fighting off some of the breading.
 

I couldn’t believe Steph ordered fish tacos…I think she was a little surprised. The menu says they are award winning and were named a “must-eat” in Stark County.  I didn’t know we were getting a must eat on this trip but there they were. The tortillas are stuffed with grilled fish, cabbage, pico de gallo, jack cheese (cheese with fish?), a lime slice and a chipotle cream sauce. It was good, Steph enjoyed them, I enjoyed one. I was just really missing something acidic to lift the fish and cheese a bit, the lime just wasn’t enough. Some dressing on the cabbage, citrus in the pico, dunno I think it would have made a good taco more than good.

The halfback burger is a half pound cheese topped with bacon and what they call a slaw created from all traditional burger toppings and a few surprises. This thing was a stupendous sandwich. The slaw is fine, no single thing stood out, it tasted like the goop I would usually pile on a burger. The two cheeses, the bacon and one of the best flavored patties I have had in a long, long time guarantee we will be headed back. Add to that some wonderfully crispy and lightly seasoned fries and you have a dish worth driving to Canton for.
 

We decided to split a dessert that sounded too good to pass on, the salted Buckeye brownie. A double chocolate brownie with peanut buttercream, whipped cream, crushed pretzels and sea salt. This was probably the most disappointing thing we tried. The brownie was fine, I couldn’t find any sea salt and if you are counting on the crushed pretzels to provide salt there is so much pale interior on the plate they actually detract from any potential saltiness. The whipped cream is unsweetened which is fine in a sweet dish but this wasn’t sweet, it wasn’t salty. The peanut buttercream hiding under the whipped cream was nice but there is very little of it.

The dessert aside, this is a great place to fill your belly and catch a game…they have enough screens you could probably find any event you cared to watch from quiditch to caber tossing. I'm looking forward to trying another burger, hoping they are that tasty every time.