Soup or Salad
Rainbow trout, skate or seafood fettuccine
Creme brulee or sorbets

WKYC posted a guide for local fish fries, mostly at churches. If you know of any other good places to try, please share.

The AT, which is located in north Solon on the Orange border, has all the makings of a great neighborhood joint complete with better than average bar food. My favorites as of late are the grilled cheese on wheat and Manhattan clam chowder (just had this on Friday evening) and the fish fry – crispy, sometimes a bit too greasy, but ideal if you’re in the mood for this. The burgers and wings are also worthy of a mention.

At the risk of sounding a bit corny, this place holds a special place in my heart. I spent a few summer breaks from college bartending and serving there. I had little experience, but Linda, the owner, was so friendly and excited to have help, she didn’t seem to notice my lack of serving talents, although I’m sure she came to regret her decision once she saw I was a klutz, too. When I stop in there now for lunch or dinner, she always smiles and asks how I am. I told her once I used to work for her, and she smiled as if she remembered like it was yesterday. I’m pretty confident she doesn’t, but it’s still a nice gesture. The AT is also the place where my friends would all meet and drink way too much during those same breaks and several times post college. It’s also the place we instantly migrated to to grieve and reminisce when one of our friends died much too young nine years ago.

My visits to the AT now are thankfully filled with much less alcohol and more about grabbing a quick lunch or dinner as it’s close to home and work. But every time I walk through the door, I step back in time for a brief moment and can picture random events from my past. And the funny thing is, it has now become that quirky little neighborhood spot for my husband. He always offers up going there for a quick dinner saying it reminds him of the place he always went to growing up in Youngstown.

Organic Energy Cafe
This small cafe opened last month next to Miles Farmer’s Market in Solon. The brothers who own this place also own Joey’s in Chagrin Falls (I tried to ignore that fact when I walked in). The place is all or mostly organic and features locally grown items whenever possible. I tried the artichoke and tuna panini with roasted red peppers and kalamata olives. I was told this was the best of the bunch. I also tried the Elvis smoothie: organic peanut butter, apples, banana and ice. The panini was very disappointing. It was too salty to eat, the tuna was dry and there was a single pepper. I ended up tossing it after a few bites and had a bowl of cereal instead. The smoothie wasn’t bad, although it didn’t really taste like the typical Elvis because the apple really over powered the banana and peanut butter. My bill was $14. I did think $7 was a bit high for a small smoothie, but considering it’s all organic, I’m fine paying more for better ingredients – I’m just not fine paying that much for something that ends up in the garbage. By the way, the best Elvis smoothie is at Liquid Planet.

Saffron Patch
The one day was cold and rainy – perfect weather for Indian food. I ordered the vegetable samosa and mutter paneer. Absolutely delicious! I love this place. Always consistently good Indian food. It’s not my favorite – that goes to Cafe Tandor, but this is definitely a close second.

Fresh Market on Van Aken
I love this grocery store. They have wonderful produce, some hard to find items, great prepared dishes, a nice cheese selection and friendly staff. I’ve had the soup and sushi as take out before and both pretty good. On weekends, they will make the sushi with brown rice. I like that option, just wish it wasn’t designated only to weekends. At least there is the sushi duo at Heinen’s and they will make sushi with brown rice anytime. That night I went with the tempura shrimp roll and a few pieces of tuna sashimi. Both were really good. I’ve never had bad sushi from there and for a grocery store, they really do a nice job. And trust me, they all don’t.

American Tavern
This is my favorite local spot. I used to bartend and serve here in college during the summers. This was always the go-to place for my friends growing up and sometimes now when those that have moved come back. A lot of fun times there. This place has been around forever. The owner, Linda, is unbelievable nice, as well as all the servers. It’s not amazing food per se, but definitely worth a visit. They have pretty good bar food (especially the wings, fish fry and burgers) and some unexpected entrees. The night James came home we decided to head to the AT for a quick dinner. I had a BLT on rye and a bowl of the tomato dill soup – which was surprisingly good. But then again, they always do a nice job with homemade soups. It’s very kid-friendly, too. My nieces and nephews love it.