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I’ve written before about the fact that I like to find local places to eat as much as possible when we travel. This can take some work and planning, especially when we’re just spending one night in a hotel near the turnpike like we did on this trip. It would certainly have been easy just to swing by the McDonald’s, whose drive up window was right outside the windows of the pool. But thanks to Google, I had come prepared and so we made the five-minute drive to the Midway Oh Boy Restaurant, which is located in Elyria, Ohio, just minutes from exit 145 off of both Routes 80 and 90.
This is a true old-fashioned diner, one that’s been around since 1953. I suspect that little has changed on the menu there since its opening: Oh Boy burgers, open-faced roast-beef sandwiches with gravy, cabbage rolls (but only on Tuesday nights), and a “Dieter’s Delight” consisting of 5 ounces of chopped sirloin, cottage cheese, and Jell-o. The menu also offers cups of ranch dressing as a side “for dipping,” although I’m not sure why this is necessary since almost everything comes slathered with Oh-Boy sauce, a mayonnaise-y concoction that is enormously addictive and makes everything it touches taste better.
When we arrived the sunny and immaculate dining room was bustling. It’s a seat-yourself joint, so we slid into a booth. The boys were fascinated by the little jukebox on our table. It took a while for the waitress to get to us, but we didn’t mind – it felt like benign neglect since she was smiling every time she walked past.
We all started out with milkshakes, which in addition to the more prosaic flavors of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, came in pineapple, root beer, and caramel. The pineapple had actual pieces of fruit in it and was very refreshing and the root beer had all the virtues of both milkshake and an ice-cream float rolled into one. This was followed with a round of Oh Boy burgers, fries, onion rings, and deep-fried cheddar cheese balls which Teddy demolished. While we were eating Matt and I debated how the sauerkraut balls that were listed as a side on the menu came prepared; he thought cold with cottage cheese; I was convinced they were cooked in the fry-o-lator. When our friendly waitress (whose name is Holly) came back to clear our plates she confirmed that I was right: the sauerkraut is mixed with ham, shaped into a ball about the size of a large marble, breaded, and then fried. Matt’s eyes lit up, but then his face fell, “I can’t believe I didn’t order them!” he said. “Well, why not have them for dessert?” was Holly’s wise response. And so he did.
Tommy and I took a more traditional route and decided we had to try to coconut cream pie, which was not made on the premises but came from a local bakery. It was delicious.
Obviously we didn’t eat a healthier meal than we would have at a fast food or chain restaurant (and since we were on vacation, I didn’t really care). But we did support a local business in an economically depressed area. And we got to make a new friend in the person of Holly, who cheerfully posed for a photo with the boys and told us that if we were staying another day we would really enjoy the local fish-fry festival scheduled for the next afternoon. I prefer this to the anonymous experience of eating in a chain, and I think the kids did too.
Please note that Monday Dreaming posts will be back once I return from vacation on July 6th – I don’t need to dream when I’m on the road!
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Makes me want to load up the car and drive from Texas to Ohio just for lunch! I’ll definitely take an order of the sauerkraut balls, but think I’ll pass on the Dieter’s Delight!
How nice! Look like you guys had a great start for your road trip. Looking forward to more road trip tales.
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Wonderful! I love finding little places like this too, and sounds like you had a great experience. Love the photos, too.
love the little out of the way local places. Maybe that’s why we’re addicted to Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives at our house. If you’re ever in Ellijay Georgia, you must stop at Colonel Poole’s BBQ and get yourself a pig for the Pig Hill of Fame. In addition to the fun atmosphere, the food is really good too. Let us know when if you come, we’ll meet you.
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I once read that a food study found that more jello was consumed in Ohio than in any other state. Particularly in the Northern half of the state where I come from. Gotta believe it. I have an old recipe book stuffed with recipes for jello salads (Mayonnaise mixed in ) and jello desserts (marshmallows featured)
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I also love eating at the out-of-the-way, local institutions that have been around forever. We’ve been up in Door County for four days and it occurred to me yesterday that I haven’t seen a McDonald’s (or any fast food) since I got here. It can seem like an inconvenience at first to the modern family who’s so used to being able to zip through a drive-thru and grab a meal without waking the baby or undoing all the car seat straps A. GAIN., but we’ve had a lot of fun eating in “real” restaurants with their own authentic flavor. Plus it forces us to sit around a table facing one another and have a conversation, while the kids learn how to eat politely in public. Most of the time, anyway.
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[...] fair point. I’ve had a tendency to report the happy and educational side of our travels, like sauerkraut balls and lessons about the Underground Railroad. I haven’t dwelt on the truly shameful number of [...]
Hey guys…A customer of mine ran across your blog and saw my photo with the kiddos so they sent me the link! How fun! Thanks for the great review of Oh Boys! I hope all is well for you and that your holidays went well! I suspect you did some traveling…right!?!
Next time you are in town…drop on by!!!
Cheers!!! Holly
I also enjoy Oh Boys. The food is great and I am lucky enough to live nearby. I notice you mentioned the Underground Railroad. I hope you found the many sites in the area. Oberlin, the Burrel House in Sheffield and stop #100 located in Lorain. I hope you come back sometime and get to visit everything Lorain County offers. It takes more than 1 day to visit it all.
Bryan
Holly – thank you so much for your nice comment! You truly made our visit to Oh Boys special. I know that we will be stopping there the next time we drive to Wisconsin (Matt is still talking about the sauerkraut balls six months later).
Bryan – I would like to take a little time to explore the area – maybe next time we’re passing through we’ll spend a little time. Thanks for the tips.