Wendi, my wife and the founder of this blog, and I attended our first blogging conference this summer: Bloggy Conference 2016, which was held at Cedar Point. It was there we met Katrina Reed, from Miller Boat Lines, who attended the conference to build relationships with bloggers. From the meeting, we were given two tickets for ferry rides from Miller Boat Line and a golf cart from E’s Golf Carts. There was a twist: Katrina wanted our dog, Owney, to “write” the blog. He was more than happy to oblige. (Read his blog post here.)
Wendi and I do not often travel with Owney. So, this was a new adventure for us. Katrina let us know there were a number of pet-friendly places and most establishments with a patio allow dogs on it. Not sure what to do, Wendi and I were sitting on a bench along Delaware Avenue, and we could see Mr. Ed’s Bar & Grille had a patio. So, I called and asked if we could bring our dog on the patio, and the answer was sure, dogs are welcome.
As soon as we sat down, a bartender came out and brought Owney some water. I know the boy is cute, but he was served much quicker than we were.
It was a nice experience to be able to take Owney somewhere and enjoy a meal. However, it was a little bit of a challenge trying to make sure we were OK to eat and he was settled and not bothering anyone or anything. For the most part, he did a pretty good job. This was his first time going to a restaurant, and he handled it fairly well.
Wendi and I liked the menu, but because we had Owney with us, we didn’t want to spend a lot of time there. So, instead of getting an appetizer (like the homemade tortilla chips and fresh salsa or the pulled pork nachos), we just ordered sandwiches. Mr. Ed’s had a full meal deal: Sandwich, fresh-cut fries and drink for $9.99. Anyone who has been to a fast-food restaurant knows, you are not getting out for less than $8 or $9 anymore, so the meal deal was, in a word, a real deal. Wendi went with the fried cod sandwich.
I was intrigued by the double cheeseburger. On Mr. Ed’s website, it says the place was “established in 1997 as a small hometown pub, offering friendly staff, quick service, great food, inexpensive prices and great entertainment.” The prices were very reasonable and the food was good. The service wasn’t the quickest, but I think that was because it was October, it was a nice, but cool Saturday, the season is winding down, and the Ohio State Buckeyes game had yet to start. Having spent many years in the restaurant business (where overhead and food costs are high and margins low), I imagine the owner was trying to keep operating cost down. So, the servers were very busy inside, and, at the time, Wendi and I were the only ones eating on the patio.
Wendi liked the fish sandwich. It had a mild taste, a crispy/crunchy exterior and a moist middle. The double cheeseburger was pretty good, too, though I would have preferred the patties to be seasoned a little more. The fresh-cut fries were great. They, on the other hand, were well seasoned. It seemed like either fresh-ground or kosher salt with fresh- or course-ground pepper.
So, by now you are probably wondering where the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon comes in. Well, I work at The Daily Record newspaper in Wooster, Ohio. One of my coworkers, Barb, graduated high school with the owner of Mr. Ed’s, Ed Fitzgerald. I didn’t find this out until after the trip. And while Ed isn’t exactly Kevin Bacon, his restaurant was a star in our book.
As Disney would say, “It’s a small world after all.”
