Tylar Sutton
Stories by Sharon Best, Caroline Crawford, Kelly Petryszyn and Allyson Nichols | photos by Tylar Sutton
Grab your squad and power up on these all-star eats from yummy sauerkraut balls to gargantuan chicken wings. Whether you’re drinking to an Akron Zips victory or drowning out another Cleveland Browns loss, these 16 sporty hangouts dish out food that goes for a game day win.
PLAY BALL
Loby’s Grille | 4736 Hills and Dales Road NW, Canton | 330-479-9860 | lobysbar.com
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Many people in The 330 have dunked ham-filled sauerkraut balls into cocktail sauce at tailgate parties since at least the ‘60s.
Loby’s Grille benches the classic version ($7.49) of the delicacy said to have been invented in Akron and puts a savory ringer into play: bacon.
“We always try to
do something a little different than everybody else,” says Assistant Manager Richard Snyder.
Each day his kitchen staff hand-rolls 2-ounce sauerkraut balls. They’re made with corned beef that’s cooked daily, combined with fresh sauerkraut, chopped bacon and cream cheese. The balls are dredged in flour, an egg wash and panko breadcrumbs before getting deep-fried in canola oil.
The result is a succulent and tangy snack with a complex texture, thanks to cream cheese that covers the gooey center like a pro. “It makes them a lot softer after we deepfry,” Snyder says. “The outside is really crispy, but the inside is soft, and you get bacon in there — bacon in anything is really good.”
MORE: Try these additional appetizers for Your Starting Lineup
Rather than typical cocktail sauce from a jar, Loby’s drizzles its scrumptious sauerkraut balls with Boom Boom sauce that gets a little kick from cayenne and other peppers. Plus, diners can dip them in house-made horseradish mayo to spice up their sports bar nosh.
“You get that nice little zing from the horseradish and the coolness from the mayo,” says Snyder, noting the dipping sauce is simply fresh horseradish and mayo.
When that tang is teamed up with the salty, slightly sour corned beef, the deep umami of bacon and the richness of cream cheese, this twist really smacks the flavor of the standard Akron sauerkraut ball out of the park. And based on the 80 to 100 balls Loby’s makes daily, it’s safe to say this nontraditional take has a lot of fans.
WILD CARD
Delanie’s Grille | 67 West Ave., Tallmadge | 330-630-2888 | mydelaniesgrille.com
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The pork belly bites at Delanie’s Grille throw patrons a curveball. They aren’t breaded and are paired unexpectedly with broccoli. And pork belly is rarely sports pub grub. When Kitchen Manager Nanci Bolyard introduced the dish ($8.95) in January, she offered samples to apprehensive patrons.
“At first, they were intimidated,” she recalls, adding their hesitancy slid away after the initial bite. “They’re very surprised. They love the juiciness, the Asian take.”
No wonder its juiciness gets the most praise. That comes from a preparation bar food devotees love: deep-frying. Skewered inch-by-inch cuts of pork belly and broccoli florets are tossed in the fryer for 4 minutes. Neither are breaded, but both come out with a warm, juicy inside and crisp outside for that irresistible fried taste.
“You feel healthy because you’re eating broccoli, but the chewy crispness gives it the this is really good aspect,” she says.
The Asian flavor is out of left field too. While pork belly is usually braised and served unaccompanied at white-tablecloth restaurants, Bolyard follows the lead of Asian dishes and covers the marbled meat with a flavorful sauce.
Bolyard hit on ginger to craft a sauce that’s tasty yet balanced. The traditional Asian spice tempers the salty teriyaki and soy sauce and citrusy pineapple and orange juices. The sauce is reduced to a glaze and drizzled over the pork belly, served with broccoli, carrots, red cabbage and sesame seeds. Bolyard’s sauce doesn’t overpower the rich dish.
“It coats it nicely, but it’s not too much,” she says.
If you still can’t picture ordering pork belly at a sports bar, Bolyard has advice that’ll change your position: Pair it with a hoppy beer.
“Most people sit at the bar and do our Rhinegeist Truth IPA and pork belly,” Bolyard says. “They say the sweetness and the saltiness goes great with our IPA beers.” Fried meat and beer? That’s a home run in our book.
FOWL CALL
Fat Head’s Brewery | 3885 Everhard Road NW, Canton | 330- 244-8601 | fatheads.com
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Fat Head’s Brewery isn’t afraid to go big. With smoked chicken wings that are each a colossal half-pound, one order of these fan favorites can last the entire game.
The wings are thrown into the smoker with the drum and flap intact to make for hearty, sloppy chow.
“When you first break it open, you see how nice and slow-cooked it is,” says General Manager David Viscomi. “The wing falls apart right at the joint.”
They are tossed in a dry rub of paprika, brown sugar, cayenne and other spices, and smoked for three hours over hickory wood before being chilled down. When you order three ($8), six ($14) or nine ($25), the wings are grilled, doused in the house-made sauce of your choice and thrown back on the grill to add a crispy saucy char.
“That flavor from the dry rub builds up on the wings, and the fat absorbs the flavor of the smoke,” says Head Chef Mike Greene. “It matches beautifully.”
Daring types opt for Killer sauce, named for its reputation of making even the most confident heat fanatics beg for a glass of milk. Viscomi suggests trying a sample of the sauce made of pureed local habaneros, cayenne, vinegar and secret spices before committing to a whole plate of Killer wings.
“People [say], This is ridiculous,” he says of the hot sauce.
Of the 42 beers available in the laid-back brewpub, the award-winning Head Hunter India pale ale makes a good match for the smokehouse wings.
“You get a lot of citrus from Head Hunter,” explains Viscomi. “It’s a nice cutting and cleaning of the palate to refresh and bring the flavors together.”
You might need a few beers to help down these delicious wings that are way bulkier than your typical side plate. And if you want to attempt finishing off the nine wings — a jaw-dropping 4 1/2 pounds of chicken — you better call in your whole squad.
TOP DOGS
Quarter Up | 1452 N. Portage Path, Akron | 330-752-4080 | quarter-up.com
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Quarter Up always keeps the chargrilled taste of summer fresh, no matter what Mother Nature brings to The 330. Co-owner Debbie Robinson and her staff grill up quarter-pound all-beef hot dogs on an indoor grill for fans watching games on eight giant TVs or reliving their glory days on over 75 vintage arcade and pinball games.
“They come out tasting like you grilled them outside,” says Robinson, noting that she’ll even char them a little for guests who ask.
Choose from more than a dozen ways of dressing your dog, from the classic hush puppy batter-dipped corn dog to the Asian-inspired Mortal Kombat with kimchi and a secret-recipe Sriracha mayo.
Big appetites go for the Mac Dog ($4.75), smothered in four-cheese mac ‘n’ cheese and jalapenos, then elevated with house-made bourbon bacon jam. Robinson’s daughter, Carie, makes the bourbon bacon jam by combining Ohio maple syrup, caramelized onions and bacon, then reducing it to a thick, gooey consistency. She deglazes with Bulleit bourbon to get all the sticky remnants off the pan, then smoothes it in a food processor.
The smoky-sweet jam contrasts the creamy mac ‘n’ cheese and salty dog. While some order it without jalapenos, Robinson lobbies to keep them. “I think it needs a little kick,” she says.
Traditionalists might prefer the Chi Town Dog ($4.75), complete with mustard, chopped tomatos and onions, pickles, celery salt and whole pickled sport peppers with a medium heat — the essential ingredient of any authentic Chicago dog.
A Coney Dog ($4.75) conjures thoughts of strolling the boardwalk. House-made Coney sauce — that includes garlic, sauteed onions, brown sugar, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar and ketchup — adds sweetness to diced onions and melted cheddar. It’s a breezy chili dog for people who don’t like spicy, Robinson says.
“Hot dogs take you back to summer and being a kid,” she says.
The Universityof Akron Zips and the Kent State University Golden Flashes face off on the gridiron, basketball court and more for the coveted Wagon Wheel trophy every year. While the collegiate contest racks up points, we take this beef to the table and square off burgers at two legendary Akron and Kent hangouts in a battle for the best fan food.
Akron:
COWBOY BURGER
Frank‘s Place on Market | 549 W. Market St., Akron | 330-376-8307 | franksplaceonmarket.com
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The Cowboy Burger at Frank’s Place on Market has a spicy bite for fans who are feeling dangerous.
The culprit behind its bold heat is a surprising coffee rub — not usually found on barbecue burgers.
Chef Todd Wetzel kicks up the taste with a ground coffee, usually a French roast, that he selects for its robust flavor. He combines the coffee with onion, garlic and chili powders, brown sugar and salt for a spicy-sweet Southwest bent. “As it sits on the meat, it draws the moisture and gets all that flavor into it,” he says.
He makes all his half-pound burgers from a special 70/30 blend of ground chuck, fatty brisket and short ribs delivered twice a week from Kirby Meats in Stow. “It’s a very flavorful meat blend,” Wetzel says. “The fat content really comes from the brisket and the short ribs.”
The Cowboy reins in the rogue rub with cheddar, thick-cut smoked bacon, a crunchy onion ring and tangy barbecue sauce for a layered burger that bucks tradition but maintains that homespun feel of the Old West.
“I felt like I was taking it up a notch with the coffee rub and the meat I use,” Wetzel says. “I have the image of being a cowboy on the range, sitting around the campfire, throwing these things together.”
Kent:
MO-FO BURGER
Ray’s Place | 135 Franklin Ave., Kent | 330-673-2233 | raysplacekent.com
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The Mo-Fo burger is as aggressive as its name. Ray’s Place kitchen staff stab it with a knife to keep the towering double bacon cheeseburger ($9.25) from toppling over.
“You should probably cut it in half,” advises Robert Paone, a chef at Ray’s for 16 years.
Its behemoth size combined with its juicy, rich taste has made the Mo-Fo a celebrity. In a 2011 episode of the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” Cleveland native “Iron Chef” winner Michael Symon lauded the Mo-Fo for being bigger than his head and “mastery on a bun.”
“When that happened,” says Paone, “we sold probably four out of every eight burgers as a Mo-Fo for a good year and a half.”
Much of its star power is in the meat. Paone gets a custom blend of brisket and short ribs from Atlantic Foods of Canton that he says has “a little more bite to it.”
While still on the grill, each 6-ounce patty gets its own creamy slice of American cheese melted on. Paone sandwiches the patties between a grilled brioche bun from Orlando’s, then tops them with thick slab bacon, sauteed mushrooms and “the works” — mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, sweet relish, dill pickle chips, lettuce, tomato and red onions.
From the rich beef blend and salty bacon to the crunchy lettuce and onion to the earthy, buttery ‘shrooms, this powerhouse brings serious game to your plate. “There are a plethora of flavors going on,” Paone says.
This Kent staple has no frills, but that reliable flavor is what helps Ray’s sell 300 to 500 a week and keeps fans coming back for more.
“It’s one of those that people have grown up with,” Paone says. “It’s the old standby.”
CHIP ‘N’ DIP
Sammie’s Bar & Grill | 498 South Ave., Tallmadge | 234-678-8334 | sammiesbarandgrill.com
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The chocolate nachos shock at first sight. Unlike typical sloppy flattened nacho platters served at bars, the arrival of Sammie’s Bar & Grill’s dessert version has diners wide-eyed at its staggering height — taller than two baseballs high.
“I don’t scoop it like a traditional scoop of ice cream,” says David DeLapa, owner of Sammie’s Bar and Grill. “I layer it into probably six inches of ice cream.”
DeLapa loves hot fudge sundaes, so he wanted the nachos to have plenty of his two favorite things: ice cream and hot fudge. He starts by packing in huge amounts of vanilla bean ice cream on a cooled plate that slows melting. He layers in fried flour tortillas coated in cinnamon sugar for sweet scooping action and drenches the whole treat in white chocolate sauce, rainbow candy sprinkles and a generous slathering of Hershey’s fudge sauce.
“Personally, I don’t think you can get enough hot fudge,” DeLapa says.
MORE: Try These Victory Lap Desserts
The sugary comfort food measures up for your team: The varsity version ($10.99) can feed up to six players, while the junior varsity ($7.99) is a single-player option. Either way there’s still a ton of ice cream, so DeLapa recommends eating it slowly to avoid unpleasant brain freezes. And steady your focus until the last heaping spoonful when the sweet taste of victory sets in.
“It’s heavenly,” DeLapa says. “It makes people feel happy and good. Especially, if the Browns are winning.”
