My wife, Wendi, the founder of this blog, helped me knock out two items on my alleged bucket list (I just call them things I want to do, but bucket list is — or was — so trendy) on my birthday in December: Go to Westside Market and Ohio City Burrito. Despite the fact that we had to leave Wooster and Wayne County to get to Cleveland, I discovered we never really left Wayne County behind.
- Marshallville Meats: The first sign of home came in Westside Market. While looking at all of the beef, pork, lamb, gyros, produce, breads, pastries and other sweet treats, Wendi and I noticed one of the vendors was selling Marshallville hams. This can only mean one thing: The vendor buys his hams from Marshallville Meats, which is a longstanding business in, where else, Marshallville, a village in Wayne County. The company is closed Sundays and Mondays, and if you go on a Saturday, you might want to get there early because it is not uncommon to see one or two buses in the parking lot. That’s right, people travel from places like Cleveland in a tour bus to shop at Wayne County establishments like Marshallville Meats.
- Certified Angus Beef: After spending time in Westside Market, Wendi and I headed off to find Ohio City Burrito. I first learned about Ohio City when Wendi and I were invited by Jan Maxwell to hubby Ron Maxwell’s surprise birthday party. The party was at Momocho Mod Mex, a restaurant that features, as the name implies, modern Mexican dishes. But, I first learned about Ohio City Burrito through my former co-worker, Bryan Schaaf, now a marketing manager for Wooster-based Certified Angus Beef. He ate there one time and posted photos and a rave review on Facebook. It took me a while to get there, but when I entered the little restaurant, one of the first things that stood out was the Certified Angus Beef sign indicating Ohio City Burrito was a partner of the brand.
I ordered a burrito with barbacoa. Wendi, who loves pork, ordered the carnitas. The carnitas burrito was good, but when she tasted the barbacoa, she regretted she did not order it. CAB makes a difference. I would definitely recommend the place to anybody, but I was a little disappointed that the tortilla chips they served could be purchased at finer grocery stores and that the corn salsa did not have much taste. However, the barbacoa was grand.
- Smith’s Dairy and Hartzler’s Dairy: The final stop on this tour was Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream, a fine ice cream establishment that we stumbled upon by accident. Wendi and I met, and were wed, in Cincinnati, the home of Graeter’s Ice Cream, our favorite. We read an article about Graeter’s coming to Cleveland, and the writer noted the Cincy-based maker of ice cream would be competing with the likes of Mitchell’s. As we were driving home, I noticed the Mitchell’s sign, and we turned around to check them out. The place is clean and open, we could see the ice cream being made in the back. The staff invites you to see what is going on inside the processing area, and you cannot miss it because of the high, glass walls. As we were looking around, I noticed that distinguishable half-gallon bottle Hartzler’s Dairy uses. I asked if it was Hartzler’s, and the worker said indeed it was. Mitchell’s uses the milk in the front of the ice cream parlor to make shakes. Next I asked if Mitchell’s used Smith’s Dairy ice cream base (Graeter’s does), and he said Mitchell’s did use Smith’s cream.
The ice cream was good, real good. Was it better than Graeter’s? Well, you will have to wait to find out when Wendi writes her blog post about Mitchell’s. If you go, I will tell you this: You will not be disappointed.
This guest blog was written by Bobby Warren.
