Arnie's West Branch Steakhouse
 Ravenna, Ohio        Date of Visit  09/17/16            http://arnieswestbranchsteakhouse.com

At our house, I’m the one who usually remembers the restaurants. I have no recollection of Arnie’s but Steph vibrantly remembers going there with my Mom and Dad. We’re less one diner, but the good ones are always with you. Daddio wouldn’t have shared anyways…"if I wanted to eat the salad, I would have ordered the salad."
 

Warm Bread
 

There is quite a wait and new diners are adding their names to the list while we’re leaving. It dark and close inside, but in the country everyone seems Über friendly and courteous.

A table opens up and we are transported to another time. Our server has a light Dutch or German accent, the menu is old world classic steakhouse…not sure where the West Branch part comes from. The lighting has the yellow cast that comes with almost 30 years of steaks, sorry about the pictures. It’s more appetizing in person.

Warm bread comes with real butter (Daddio would have loved that). Salads are simple with rich dressings. The stuffed pepper soup was perfectly fine. Three tater offerings (baker/sweet/homefries) took all the pizzazz they had from their straightforward and on the nail preparation. No marshmallow cinnamon on the sweet slices or sour cream foam on the baker…just the simple essence of the veg.
 

Baker, Period.
 

Just Sweet
 

Their meat cookery evidences 30 years of practice. The steaks are spot-on. A strip with a warm pink mid-rare center and a brown-through mid-well petite filet is still tender and they both taste like lightly seasoned beef. Imagine that.

We added a side of shrooms which were sautéed in butter and white wine, with just enough fruit. The ribs are tender, if a little overdone but the chicken breast seems to have just reached temp on the walk from the kitchen to the table. Perfectly simple.

Finish the whole thing, splitting a piece of lemon-drop cheesecake with a nice bend of heavy richness and sharp citrus and you have had a nice meal in the late 70’s. I only wish there were four of us. If you don’t mind going a bit out of the way…and a little time travel…you could do way worse than Arnie’s.
 

Crispy Home Fries