Michael Ruhlman has a new ebook on schmaltz, available on itunes.

I've had some bone in chicken pieces brining for about two hours. Now we have a surprise dinner invite, and lobster mac and cheese is hard to turn down. If I take the chicken out of the brine, cover and refrigerate, will it be OK to cook on, say, Monday? Or will it have turned to mush?

Three of our writers at the Akron Beacon Journal did a test on Eggies as part of their "Does It Work" series:

http://www.ohio.com/business/lin-fish...

Chicago Tribune just ran a recipe for that very thing:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/20...

Has anyone else noticed a huge difference in the clumpiness factor since the "pink slime" issue? Our local supermarket declared it would no longer sell ground beef with pink slime in it, and I immediately noticed I got much finer crumbles than I have in years, with no change in cooking technique.

I adore my Brasserie White set. Eleven years and not one has chipped or broken. I have dinner plates, salad plates, soup bowls and cereal bowls and that's been perfect for all our needs (soup bowls are great for pasta as well).

Two beer writers taste a month's worth of cheap beer so you don't have to:
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/food/a-...

I've never had the perch, but Hil-Mak's on Ashtabula Harbor has a pretty astonishing seafood menu, brought in fresh.

http://www.hilmaks.com/index.php

Gervasi. Absolutely beautiful setting with indoor or outdoor dining options. I've only been there for lunch so I can't speak to the wine, but our meals were wonderful with lots of fresh local ingredients. Call soon -- can be tough to get a reservation, especially on a weekend.

http://www.gervasivineyard.com/

Mix into mac and cheese. Just did that this week and it's excellent -- makes you feel slightly less guilty!

d'oh, sorry, read right past that.

Bistro on Main a good choice. I don't think Downtown 140 has a private room and it is very small. Their original chef, Shawn Monday, is now running One Red Door across the way, which may have a larger space: http://www.onereddoorhudson.com.

You might also look at Rosewood Grill that recently opened in the former Inn at Turner's Mill. I haven't been there so I can't vouch for quality, and I don't know whether they have a private room, but it looks promising and the space was always beautiful. http://www.rosewoodgrill.com/

Bruce Springsteen himself had dinner from Sokolowsky's after last night's show.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainmen...

Sorry you haven't had good experiences so far. I haven't been to Chowder House but have been to its sister restaurant, Sugo, and was kinda disappointed in the food after having heard similar raves. I've eaten at other places where the chef has cooked over the years (he bounced around a lot before opening CH and later Sugo) and they were always great, so I'm not sure what's happened. Now that he's the owner, maybe he's not doing so much of the cooking anymore.

Bricco is OK, nothing wildly innovative but food is decent and the wine list is pretty adventurous for Akron. Popular spot for business lunches. Cilantro next door gets good reviews for its Thai so maybe you can stop there for an appetizer beforehand?

You could also take the hipster recommendations of our coolest alumni -- they are also in the Swensons camp!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVDxAY...

"Ohio-unique" doesn't necessarily mean typically chow-ish, especially in Akron, where the iconic local cuisine is hearty middle-class stuff like Barberton chicken (fried in lard, served with "hot rice" on the side at places like Belgrade Gardens and White House), Luigi's (proudly serving non-trendy Italian for more than 50 years) and the drive-in burger duel between Swensons and Sky-Way (all locals must choose a side). I'm partial to the 13 varieties of grilled cheese, kitschy atmosphere and encyclopedic beer selection at Lockview downtown; it's kinda like Melt, which has a national reputation and three locations in the Cleveland area, but their wait times can be insane. Sauerkraut balls are a local delicacy and on many bar menus.

More chow-ish options in Akron are Crave (funky cuisine near the art museum), the antipasto bar at Tre Belle in Bath Township, Downtown 140 in Hudson. Near downtown is the throwback Diamond Grille, giant hunks of meat and an atmosphere straight out of the Mad Men era; they really have been just like this since midcentury and are not playing it for irony. All the golfers love to eat here when they come in for the Bridgestone tournament.

If you're going to West Side Market and are a beer fan, go next door to the newish Market Garden brewpub. The brewmaster formerly worked for Dogfish Head and is an Akron native. Across the street is the sister restaurant Bar Cento/Bier Markt, and nearby is Great Lakes Brewing.

Thyme is in the process of moving to Medina Square -- check with them first if you're thinking of stopping there.

If you want to go the long way and pass through Vermilion, there's the utterly fabulous Chez Francois, which is right on the water.

http://www.chezfrancois.com/

There's a place called Hil-Mak's in the industrial waterfront area of Ashtabula, which brings in an astonishing array of seafood. It doesn't look like much and the preparations are very basic, but it's the freshest fish you'll get in the Midwest.

http://www.hilmaks.com/restaurant.php

Pile it on top of a thin-crust pizza hot out of the oven. We had this nearly every day for lunch when we honeymooned in Italy.

Roast the bones with some aromatics (onion, garlic, carrot, celery) until everything's browned. Put everything in a pot, cover with water, add some peppercorns and herbs if you have them, and simmer slowly for several hours to make the best stock you've ever had. Even three bones have a ton of flavor. I do this every year with our standing rib bones from Christmas.

Devitis in Akron, just east of the Tallmadge Avenue exit off Route 8. My Brooklyn-raised Italian mother-in-law loves it.

Sadly, we hear that it wasn't quality or lack of business that led to the shutdown, but rather "financial misdealings," as our food writer delicately put it, on the part of Hynde's partners. But I am looking forward to seeing what Dante Boccuzzi does with the spot... he's a well-regarded Cleveland chef making his first foray into Akron.

Everything always tastes fresh at Mustard Seed. I don't think they freeze their chicken, because it comes out really juicy.

Sorry Lockview wasn't open in time for you to try it... did not realize they didn't serve lunch on weekends. It's a favorite spot for work lunches since I'm only a couple of blocks away, and we have taken young visiting kids there with no problem. Maybe next time!

Go to Lockview right across the street from Lock 3 -- a dozen different kinds of grilled cheese (including a basic one that'd be fine for the little one) and some other retro/comfort food dishes, more than 100 interesting beers, surprisingly good wine list.

I'll second the Village Tavern. Good food, wine, and nice beer selection if you are sick of wine by then.

Or if you are doing Dr. Frank first and Wiemer second, you can drive north from Wiemer to Ports Cafe (portscafe.com), just south of Geneva. Some really fun food in another place that doesn't look like much -- I think it was a former roadside convenience store.

You will be near some other worthy wineries going between those two excellent choices. If you have any sobriety left, Anthony Road (north of Wiemer) and Ravines (across the lake from Dr. F) are both very good.

-----
Village Tavern Restaurant
30 Mechanic St, Hammondsport, NY 14840

We were there in April and loved Alex & Ika. Best mac and cheese I've had in a long time, and my husband raved about the enchiladas. Doesn't look like much because the kitchen is in the front -- you have to walk around the side to get in the dining room.

http://www.alexandika.com/

Friends who have a cabin in the area highly recommended the Yum Yum Shack south of town, but it had not opened for the season yet when we were there.

http://www.yumyumshack.com/

-----
Yum Yum Shack
4918 State Highway 80, Cooperstown, NY 13326

Loretta Paganini also does classes at the Fishers Foods market in North Canton, which might be closer for your mom than Chesterland. There's a link on the righthand column of the main page that takes you to the Fishers classes.

Western Reserve in Hudson still has a good reputation though the original owner, Zona Spray, no longer owns it. There is a book in the works about the school's history, by the Akron Beacon Journal's food writer, Lisa Abraham.

The Beacon Journal runs a list of cooking classes in the Food section on Wednesdays, where you can find Fishers and Western Reserve classes as well as those at other local markets, smaller cooking schools, the Cuyahoga Valley Conservancy, etc.

The three Ken Stewart's restaurants for high-end dining: the Grille, the Lodge and Tre Belle. Of those, I like Tre Belle best, for its excellent antipasto bar. Portions are always huge at Grille and Lodge. Lodge has nice outdoor deck.

I like the D'Agnese's restaurants for medium-scale Italian: Tomato Grille, D'Agnese's Trattoria on White Pond, Bistro at Hammond's Corners.

Piatto Novo in Cuyahoga Falls got a little less adventurous when it moved from downtown to the Sheraton Hotel, but the view cannot be beat.

Have not been to Downtown 140 since the chef moved but it was always a favorite. The chef is now at One Red Door, just down the block.

Moe's in Cuyahoga Falls is pretty adventurous.

Office Bistro in north Akron is a good place for happy hour and small plates.

Lockview, downtown, across from Civic -- more than a dozen different grilled cheese sandwiches, excellent beer and fun wine selection.

Good food and beer but teeny, always crowded dining room at Gasoline Alley.

Edgar's, overlooking Good Park Golf Course. Chef was featured on ABC Nightline recently.

And since you live here, you must now choose a side in the great Swensons-Skyway drive-in burger debate. Go to the originals -- Swensons by the West Point Market (a foodie paradise if you've not discovered it yet) and Skyway in Fairlawn.

-----
West Point Market
1711 W Market St, Akron, OH 44313

Piatto Novo
1989 Front Street, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

Downtown 140
140 North Main Street, Hudson, OH 44236

Lockview
207 S Main St, Akron, OH 44308

Red Door Bar
125 N Meridian St, Belle Plaine, MN 56011

I love Aladdin's hummus -- well balanced flavors and not too pasty. Got a craving now...

Pub Bricco's menu is different from the other locations, very heavy on burgers and other sandwiches. The house-made potato chips with cheese dip are a guilty pleasure. My husband likes the Pub because they have draft beer, which the downtown location doesn't.

http://www.pubbricco.com/menu

Yes, I just drove by on Monday. Have not eaten there yet myself, so please report back if you do!

If you like the Bistro in Hammond's Corners, they have another branch that opened recently, in the former Jasper's space on White Pond near I-77. It's called D'Agnese's but is basically the same as Bistro with most of the same menu items, including that fabulous gnocchi, with the addition of pizza (I just finished a few leftover slices of their chicken and arugula pizza for lunch). They have an outdoor seating area though it hasn't been nice enough yet to sit out there. Like the old Jasper's, there's a bar side and a restaurant side but menu is the same for both. We actually find the bar side a bit quieter, but neither is as crowded-feeling as the Bistro.

http://dagneseswhitepond.com/