We celebrated our recent wedding anniversary at the Kanji Japanese Steakhouse located in Heath, Ohio.  We opted to sit at the Hibachi grill and selected the chicken and steak Hibachi dinner entrées.  Mushroom soup and a house salad with yummy-yummy sauce served as starters, followed by the Hibachi Chef working his entertaining and magical skills on the built-in grill by cooking us up our meat along with mushrooms, zucchini, bean sprouts, onions, and carrots and two shrimp appetizers.  The chef offered for me to taste the fried rice that he was fixing for most of the other people at our table and it was tasty as well.  The Chef also provided us with delicious ginger sauce and more yummy-yummy sauce.

Jokingly, the Chef shared that it was his first day, so I responded by saying, “Are we in trouble?”, and the server quietly shared that the chef has actually been working there for ten years.  It was all in good fun: the chef threw balls of rice at those of us who wanted to try to catch the rice in our mouths; I was the only one- I think it is because I took my sunglasses off to focus.  Lol!  Near the end of the cooking time, he pretended to squirt soy sauce at my face and it was just a brown rope coming out of the bottle.  The talented Hibachi Chef also threw up an egg still in its shell and it landed on the top of his hat.  Later, he tipped his head down, which caused the egg to fall out of his hat and the egg landed and cracked open directly on the side corner of his spatula blade causing the egg and yoke to conveniently spill onto the grill. It was a fun dining experience and we plan to ask for the same Hibachi Chef on our next visit.    

I met a dear friend to catch up over lunch on a recent Wednesday afternoon at Newark Station located at 325 West Main Street, Newark, Ohio.  A long ramp with outdoor seating available for use (the gliders were my favorite) leads the way to the main entrance of the Newark Earthworks Cafe, which is just one aspect of the Newark Station’s multifunctional property.  We were immediately impressed with the integrity kept from the original former factory and warehouse structure, but updated for its new purposes.  How special that this business location was originally built in 1943 and for years sat deteriorating until being renovated and repurposed in 2020.  Future uses like apartment lofts, art studio and business lots, and a lookout tap room are still in the works and will be coming soon.  We noticed an observation area of a freshly ground coffee machine (not in use at the time) surrounded by glass walls and a nice sized stage for bands and performers (again, not in use at the time of our visit).

We settled into our selected table and velvet chairs and enjoyed our “Adult Grilled Cheese Sandwiches” with tomato, bacon, and pepper jack cheese added to the classic sandwich and waffle fries.  We had a lot to catch up on, so we comfortably visited for a few hours.  We noticed many senior groups were meeting for lunch and learned that Sunday night Bingo is an extremely popular activity offered.

After our meal, we took about thirty minutes to explore more of this massive “adult playground” and looking through the surrounding windows, we took note of the volleyball courts, shelter house, outdoor bar, and firepit.  As we headed out, we discovered the bar was a coffee bar on one side and a cocktail bar on the other.  Nearby, we found a multipurpose meeting room that is available for reservation, and last, but certainly not least, we stumbled upon an art gallery in a large old factory production area surrounded by glass.  Motion sensor lights illuminated our way as we ventured further into the space.  This was my favorite part of the building, as it still felt old like we were walking back in time; I also appreciated the solitude and quiet.  A small lounge area created with antique furniture while incorporating the featured artist’s work was a delightful addition. Currently, surreal collage art is on display by Granville, Ohio artist David W. Butler (https://www.dwbfolio.com).  There are some eye popping pieces and his work combined with the surrounding atmosphere provided an aesthetically pleasing end to our visit.

Conveniently located on the historic U.S. Route 40 (National Road) in Hebron, Ohio, Clay’s Cafe was bustling with customers of all ages on a Friday summer evening. We signed in to wait for a seat as did many other guests. While patiently waiting to be seated, we learned that Clay’s Cafe started in 1934 and one of the current owners used to work in the cafe when he was a teenager. After observing the cafe’s history on the walls decorated with photographs, news articles, and memorabilia, we ended up sitting in a booth by a window and directly across from the soda shop bar and kitchen, which enabled us to watch more customers arrive as well as the staff prepare many pizzas, subs, etc. Upon looking over our menus and the hanging dessert menu above the ice cream (Hershey’s ice cream) bar , we decided to share a small classic stromboli covered in garlic butter, which includes pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella cheese, and some very tasty tomato dipping sauce, and a 10” pizza with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, banana peppers, and onions; the meat and vegetables were a perfect combination and the veggies were oh, so fresh! We appreciated how the pizza from this mom-and-pop restaurant had a healthier salt level and was not covered in grease, which enabled us to taste all the flavors with every slice.

Believe it or not, we had room for dessert, but we decided to each get our own. Our choices were hot fudge cake: a slice of homemade Texas sheet cake, a scoop of French vanilla ice cream, and topped with hot fudge and whipped cream. After sharing my delight over the dessert, as not many places serve this option and I used to live in Texas for years where it was most popular, one of the staff members informed us that the recipe for the Texas sheet cake they use is really old. I really enjoyed eating the delicious dessert once again. A one-dip French vanilla turtle sundae drizzled with hot fudge and caramel, and lastly, topped with pecans and a maraschino cherry was my husband’s dessert choice. We were quite pleased with our Friday night meal and gladly took the leftovers home. “Sherman’s Fries” (check out the story of Sherman and his fries on Clay’s Cafe’s website) is a side option on the menu we plan to try on our next visit.

If you like authentic Mexican food as much as we do, we highly recommend you visit the Mexican restaurant Tlaquepaque in Heath, Ohio. The welcoming staff always greet us with a smile. Free WARM nachos that they actually make every day at the restaurant and salsa start-off the meal quickly by the friendly staff. We order our favorite unsweet iced tea, which is perfectly iced and we can actually taste the tea. Our usual meal of choice is the Fajita Burrito with chicken (shrimp or steak are options as well) topped with their in-house queso Mexican cheese dip, which comes with a side of Spanish rice. Sometimes we opt to order a side of freshly made guacamole or a side of queso for those meals on the menu that do not come with the queso already. Bottom line, we never leave without enjoying some of Tlaquepaque’s delicious queso.

The booths are comfortable and the colorful authentic decorations and paintings, most if not all, come from Mexico, fill the room with a fun atmosphere. Some of our favorite paintings depict Lucha libre wrestlers and at least one of them gives off a humorous vibe, which adds to providing a most comfortable environment. Some black and white paintings with pops of red are also striking. Various colored glass globe lights hang above each table and the bar and star light garlands creatively incorporate a genuine ambiance. We have heard and learned about some music for the first time while enjoying many amazing meals here as well; Mexican rap and Mexican Irish music (Irish instrumentals and lyrical sounds sung in Spanish) are a couple of the new musical genres we have picked up on our visits. A couple of times when we stopped in during slower hours, we got a kick out of hearing the kitchen staff sing along with the music.

Every time we have eaten at Tlaquepaque, it is obvious that the staff work hard, are efficient, friendly, and have FUN together while they work.  Ordering takeaway is also an option and every time our meals have been ready in 10 minutes from the time we placed the order over the phone!  Not one bad meal has crossed our plates and not one bad experience has occurred for us at Tlaquepaque.  Not many restaurants offer such quality food and service on a 100% consistent basis as Tlaquepaque; thank you Tlaquepaque for continuing to deliver positive dining experiences for us.