Before I moved to Wooster I never gave much thought to Massillon, Ohio. But over the years it has started to become a destination spot for me. I’ve enjoyed movies at the Regal Theater and at the Lion’s Lincoln Theater. You can read about our time watching White Christmas or Prince Bride at the Lion’s theater in earlier posts. We’ve also enjoyed eating at Bella Sera a fantastic Italian restaurant in the nook of a shopping center. But I have found another reason to make a trip to Massillon for a meal. It is Kozmo’s Grille.
My husband, Bobby, and I recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of our first date. (Yes, it was that memorable so we commemorate it every year.) This year the anniversary was on a Tuesday, so after a long day at work I was surprised to get a message from Bobby to pick him up outside of his office, which is on the Wooster Campus of the Ohio State University, so that we could go on a date. He suggested going to Texas Roadhouse in Canton. This is a favorite restaurant of ours. But as we were traveling east toward Canton, Bobby was searching for other options on our way. When he found Kozmo’s Grille in Massillon and read me the description of the Newman special (an 8 oz. Certified Angus Beef sirloin steak with fries) I was sold. Then when he said they had a stone oven where they baked pizza’s, he was sold.
We discussed on the way the name of the restaurant and wondered if it was related to the TV Series Seinfeld. Kozmo Kramer was one of the iconic characters of the show. He brought flair and pizzazz and a different way of thinking to audiences in the 80’s and 90’s. It was hard to think it didn’t have to do anything with the show, especially with the Newman on the menu. We asked our server, Nina, and she confirmed it was connected. The owners, Maury Sullivan, Chuck Thompson and Rick Taylor, really loved the TV show. With that settled, we could enjoy our meal.
I ordered the Newman special and was super excited to see it came with fresh cut fries. Bobby thought it would be good for me to switch out the coleslaw for the sweet corn cake. It was $1.00 more, but with it being our anniversary and the fact that I rarely find coleslaw that tastes like my mom’s, I decided to do just that. Bobby, of course, ordered his cheese pizza.
We also decided to try their fried pickle chips appetizer. This is something we are finding ourselves doing more frequently since the time when we went out with our friends, Ron and Jan Maxwell and enjoyed fried pickles with them. Kozmo’s fried pickles come with a homemade Southwest Remoulade sauce. Bobby asked them to include ranch dressing in case we didn’t like their sauce. Turned out we liked their sauce. It had a good flavor and a nice kick at the end. I would say spicy, Bobby would probably disagree as his threshold for spicy food is much higher than mine. We really liked the pickles because they were fried very well with the whole order being quite crispy.
When my steak came out it looked gorgeous. Of course it should being it was Certified Angus Beef. They cooked it perfectly — just the way I like it — rare. The fries were not as soft as I like them, but Bobby enjoyed them quite a bit. I was very glad to have made the choice to upgrade to the sweet corn cake. It was awesome! I haven’t had a corn cake this good since Chi Chi’s Mexican restaurants closed.
Bobby liked the pizza. It had a nice char on the bottom. I thought the crust was pretty chewy, which Bobby said that is exactly how you want it to be.
While we were perusing the menu, my gaze fell on the dessert section. I decided, even before we ordered anything, we would be buying dessert. Not only because it was the 25th anniversary of our first date, but also because it looked too good to pass up. It was Kris’ Ooey-Gooey Butter Fudge Cake. Anyone who knows me, knows that chocolate is my go-to dessert and if it is a brownie or cake, all the more so. So after we got boxes to take home almost half the pizza and a good portion of my steak and fries, we had them bring out the dessert. It was exactly as promised, both ooey and gooey. If it hadn’t been so uncouth, I probably would have licked the plate clean!
You can probably tell that we really liked Kozmo’s. The food is excellent and their awards show it. They received the 2018 Massillon Independent’s Reader Choice Awards for Best Steak and Best bar. They were also finalists for Best Burger (which I’ll have to go and try), Best Fries, Best Pizza, Best Sandwich, Best Family Restaurant, Best Downtown Business and Best Employer.
In addition to the food, the restaurant itself has so much character and this has nothing to do with their namesake. It is a cozy and warm restaurant with brick walls and wood floors. The stone hearth oven is out in the dining area where you can watch the pizzas being baked.
I always enjoy spending time with my husband, no matter where we are. However, it is even more special when it is just the two of us reminiscing about our first date over a good meal. But you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to enjoy a meal at Kozmo’s. And believe me, we won’t be waiting until we are celebrating our 26th anniversary to return. Like a good Seinfeld episode, a visit to Kozmo’s is worth repeating.
