One of the best ways to savor the true flavor of a place when traveling is checking out quirky little eating joints beloved by locals, and we found these tasty stops during our recent trip to Canton, Ohio.
Ally Bussey of the Canton-Stark Convention and Visitors' Bureau knew of my affection for great local joints and was spot-on when she urged us to check out Kennedy's Bar-B-Que for pulled pork sandwiches that would "knock your socks off".
Kennedy's is a modest little building at the edge of Monument Park, near the McKinley Monument and McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, but the real sign of the great 'que awaiting us inside was the diminutive smokehouse out back.
Kennedy's seats about three-dozen diners between tables, a few booths and a handful of stools lined up along a classic diner-style lunch counter.
Tim and I both love big pulled pork, and Kennedy's pulled pork sandwich certainly lived up to its billing!
The mountain of pulled pork that arrived at our table, precariously perched atop each bun, was moist and tender. The fork that came with it wasn't just for show, as you needed it to make sure you grabbed every last shard of pork escaping from the overstuffed buns.
I'm glad that our server insisted we try Kennedy's homemade spicy cabbage-based relish with our sandwiches when she discovered we it was our first visit to the restaurant. The relish is former owner Jack Kennedy's super-secret recipe, which may include green pepper, celery seed, mustard seed, sugar, and salt in addition to the finely ground cabbage...or not. Food writer Michael Stern compared it to relishes he tasted with pig sandwiches in the South, saying it was not quite as sweet, but a perfect accompaniment to the pulled pork.
The restaurant opened as Spiker's in 1922.
Jack Kennedy purchased it in 1960, running it in 2009. Long-time employees kept Kennedy's running for a few months, but Canton was on the verge of losing the landmark until Ernie and Patti Schott purchased it from Kennedy's estate. The Schotts kept Kennedy's menus, recipes, decor, and its loyal employees in place.
We saw plenty of locals there for lunch or stopping by to pick up lunch, meat-by-the-pound, or the pies I heard several folks rave about to take home.
Bottom line-A Canton classic where lunch of authentic smoked pulled pork sandwiches and ice tea was filling and, at $13.50 for two, priced right.
Ernie Schott obviously has an eye for classics, as he also owns Canton's Taggarts Ice Cream Parlor, another 1920s-vintage Canton landmark.
Bussey highly recommended Taggarts Ice Cream Parlor as a stop for sandwiches or dessert, and told us we shouldn't leave without trying the restaurant's classic "Bittner" dessert, a sentiment echoed by several other people we talked to as we toured town that day.
Still pretty satiated from our lunch at Kennedy's, we opted to go straight to the dessert side of the menu at Taggarts and order a Bittner.
The Bittner blends three-quarters of a pound of ice cream with chocolate syrup, topping it with a generous layer of salty roasted pecans from a special supplier in Georgia and a huge dollop of whipped cream.
Taggarts added the Bittner to the menu in the early 1930s. Restaurant staffers met a customer-issued challenge to create a milkshake thick enough that a spoon could stand upright in it, naming the dessert for a delivery boy. The Bittner may look a bit like a milkshake, but trust me; you need a spoon, not a straw, to consume it.
Taggarts ice cream and desserts achieved legendary status over the years in Canton, where legend says football great Jim Thorpe (who once played for the Canton Bulldogs) liked to stop by for ice cream. The restaurant is within minutes of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and many hall-of-famers reportedly became regulars as they've visited Canton over the years.
Taggarts' building originally housed a bicycle repair shop, becoming an ice cream parlor in 1916.
Joe Taggart took over the business in 1926.
We sat in one of the maple booths brought in by Taggart when he bought the place and enjoyed the vintage vibe of the restaurant that has remained largely unchanged since that time.
Taggarts Web site proudly proclaims that "Things do not change here because customers won't hear of it!"
Ernie Schott grew up on a dairy farm and enjoyed a 30-year career in manufacturing before looking for something different to do at the age of 52, buying Taggarts in 1998.
Taggarts has a full meal menu featuring things like soups, salads and sandwiches like Chicago-style hot dogs, Coney dogs, sloppy Joes, grilled cheese, fried fish filets, and burgers in addition to shakes, sundaes, malts, floats, sodas, coolers, phosphates, and ice cream pies.
I wish I'd had room for both a meal and a dessert because I thought the Olive Nut Sandwich, a mixture of chopped green olives and pecans in cream cheese dressing spread between two slices of rye bread sounded good. That leaves something to try next time I'm out in Canton!
Bottom line-Taggarts was a sweet ending to a full day where $8 bought two full-sized Bittners (a mini version of the famous dessert is available at a slight discount). Kids of all ages, 9 to 90, will love it.
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
WOW. i need a bittner. that sounds amazing!!
Posted by: Wandering Educators | March 15, 2012 at 07:17 AM