Review: Big Eye Sushi and Japanese Cuisine

Nothing is better than fresh sushi, especially on a hot summer day. It's even better when the sushi is fantastic sushi at a decent price. The place to go in the area for reasonable and delicious sushi is definitely Big Eye in Fairlawn. Monday through Thursday they have half price sushi from 4:30-6:00 on hand rolls and maki rolls. We make make a stop here for our sushi fix almost once a week and we are never disappointed.

The restaurant is always clean and presentable and the decor is modern and trendy. The only oddity is the big screen TVs showing ESPN, which I don't think is necessary for this kind of place. It's always cool in there, so you may want a sweater. Service is hit or miss. Some servers are attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable while others are rude, dismissive, and MIA. Either one you get, it tends to be slow. However, sushi service is generally slow no no matter where you go anyway.

Now for the menu. The wine, sake, and spirits list is varied and exceptional, so I would recommend getting a sake or cocktail with your meal. The appetizers are delicious and unique. If you want a hot appetizer I recommend the Negimaki, thin slices of beef wrapped around scallions seasoned with sweet teriyaki and skewered. If you are going with the sushi, which is what you should order here instead of the entrees, I recommend getting the edamame as your appetizers. Soups are also unique. I recommend the Spicy Vegetable, which will make your eyes sweat if you're not careful. For your sushi you have several options, sushi (piece of fish with rice)/sashimi (piece of fish without rice), maki (6 pieces)/handrolls (1 cone), Big Rolls (8 pieces), and Special Rolls (8 pieces). Since the half price only applies to maki/handrolls, that is the majority of our normal order. For some great maki, check out the spicy crab, spicy scallop, and manhattan. Some favorites from the Special Rolls are crunch munch, spring roll, and the big futomaki. The regular maki/handroll list tends to be repetitive, so you may get a little bored. However, there is quite the variety on the special list, but make sure you don't get a maki roll with just something extra thrown on the outside. They could use a few more special sauces since some of the rolls may be a little dry. However, the sushi is always fresh and delicious. I've never had anything that tasted too fishy to chewy.

Presentation is always attractive and exceptional. The ginger and wasabi is fresh and pungent. For a unique experience, try sitting at the bar. If you want a delicious and reasonable sushi dinner, definitely give Big Eye a shot. Closed on Sundays. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. $$$$.

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Review: Menches Brother's Restaurant, Canal Park Stadium

First of all, so there's no confusion, I want to let you know this is a review for the Canal Park Stadium location in Akron, not the Uniontown location. I've never eaten there, so it could be a totally different experience. I hope someday to make it out there to get a better understanding of this so-called Akron institution. In fact, I would like to check out the downtown location again during an Aeros game, perhaps, because I have a sneaky feeling we were there on an off day.

So, around the area the legend goes that Charles and Frank Menches, Akron natives invented the hamburger at a festival in Hamburg, New York in 1885. Like many inventions it was developed unintentionally when the brothers ran out of the sausage they normally served. A local butcher sold them 5 lbs of beef and Charles formed them into patties, adding coffee and brown sugar, and fried them up. They were a hit! It sounds like a great story, and I guess we will never really know if its true or not (they also claim to have invented the ice cream cone and the precursor to Cracker Jack); but, today's Menches family has capitalized on the legend by opening the two restaurants.

Last week, we visited the Akron restaurant on a whim, located in Canal Park Stadium. They are open during the week for lunch from 11-3pm, and during games. I was pretty excited because of all the hype and was expecting a life-changing burger experience. When we entered I was surprised to see nothing about the famous brothers in the restaurant except a photograph on the wall. The decor was basically your average sport's bar, but it was clean and presentable. We were the only customers in there except for one patron at the bar (who was clearly frustrating the staff for some reason) and a business lunch going on in the party room. Our server was friendly, but distracted. He directed us to the lunch special menu sitting on the table and recommend the salad and taco bar. I thought, TACO BAR!?! I'm sorry, I was under the impression this was a burger place? I have a personal distaste for salad bars in general because they sit there all day and people sneeze and cough in them, and they are basically a lunch service cop out. So, needless to say my enthusiasm was quickly beginning to wane. After doing that, he basically left us alone for the rest of our visit except to bring us our orders. I was particularly frustrated to observe him giving the full menu to customers that came in later, especially knowing that there had to be more than one burger on that one.

The lunch menu was pretty basic. There was one beef burger on the menu and one turkey. The rest of the items were your basic wraps and sandwiches. I ordered the beef burger with onion rings and some one else got the famous taco and salad bar. They received soup with that order too. The soup was pretty good, and the salad was surprisingly fresh. The burger was good, but I was given the option of ordering to my taste nor was I given any topping options. Instead of onion rings, I was given fries. I was pretty bummed, but it worked out OK. The fries are beer battered and quite delicious, so I didn't miss the onion rings! However, I wish the server didn't continue to screw up with us. The presentation was disappointing with small plastic baskets that crowded the food and made eating a little difficult. However, the food itself was satisfactory.

When it comes to a place that claims to be serving the original hamburger, I would have preferred to be immersed in the experience. Forget the sports posters and Heineken decorations, tell me the story, convince me its true! Please serve more than one burger on the lunch menu, for heaven's sake, and make a burger that blows the mind! I would have loved to taste that original patty with coffee and brown sugar, cooked to order, with a variety of topping choices. Great job on the fries, guys, but I should be praising the burgers. Here's an idea, lose the taco bar and make a burger bar. Take a lesson from MetroBurger, it should be all about the burgers!

This place could be a contender for the downtown eating scene, but so far it has dropped the ball. I will go back with the hope getting the full menu and a better server, but I think dinner would be a better choice. The view of the baseball park is pretty good, afterall. Overall 2 1/2 stars out of 5. $$.