A Family Treat….

….To eat with us.

Nola Schmucker had an ability to make pies like no other. In 1948 she and her husband opened Schmucker's Dairy Bar. Serving the fine folks of Toledo ice cream and her delicious home made pies. Their son Allen would peddle his bike around the neighbourhood selling ice cream novelties to the locals. Eventually Allen would dedicate his life to the family business which would go on to become Schmucker's Restaurant. A basic, no frills diner serving scratch cooking for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
While Allen's kids would work the restaurant all through high school, it would be Doug who would take over and become the third generation behind the counter.

Some of the things I love most about places like this are the big neon signs out front and the feel inside. These classic signs from yesteryear have gone the way of the dinosaur. The chrome stools and phone booth inside are original and for the most part, everything is as it has been for decades. There's a certain charm that comes with that kind of tradition. 
Schmucker's has always  been about family dining. Even employees are treated as one of their own. All wear name tags and how long they've been a "Family member." For some, it's "Since 2010." Others, such as Doug himself, has a tag that says "Since birth."


The diner is a fairly inconspicuous box in the Reynolds Corners neighbourhood of Toledo. Were it not for the sign, you may miss it. Inside it's all diner. Counter seating, booths, open kitchen and of course, a dessert cabinet that looks more like a trophy case. That's where Doug keeps his pies. And make no mistake, this place was built on those pies. So well known, so good, so in demand it's not unheard of for them to "whip up" nearly 2,000 of them around Thanksgiving. All from their main kitchen in the back. There’s a standard line up with "Doug’s Pie of the Week" rounding things out.

They say man can not live on pie alone (though I'm willing to try) so the rest of the menu better deliver. Let me tell you, it does and then some. 

I ordered a side of chili. It was nice but nothing mind blowing. I found it rich in tomatoey goodness and chili spice but seemed to lack some balance. A little Tabasco helped with that. The acidity and heat provided perked it up. While it's not the best I've had it's a good solid bowl of red none the less and as such, enjoyable.

Mrs. Sippi, as you can imagine, was all over the Hot Beef Platter. A gravy enveloped roast beef sandwich on white bread with mashed potatoes. The picture on the menu was inviting. What arrived at the table was mouthwatering. It hit on all points. Gravy; nice and rich. Beef; Beefy and tender. Bread; Just there to provide structure. Mashed Potatoes; Creamy and flavourful. If all that wasn’t enough, the horseradish was potent. Seriously, this stuff is not for the timid. Use it respectfully. Just a fabulous dish.

My Dagwood was more or less a Club without the chicken or a BLT with ham. It also had a fried egg on it. Either way you (ahem) slice it, it was great. It was just one of those satisfying, “Comfortable old shoe” type foods. Calling it a "safe bet" doesn’t do it justice but that’s what it is. It’s not sexy in anyway, shape or form. It’s just a terrific sandwich.
The fries were a bit undercooked and as such, underwhelming. They’re fresh cut and tasted great but were a little too flaccid and a few were al dente. Next time I'll order ‘em well done.

It would be nice if everything was made in house at every restaurant. Sometimes this is not possible. That doesn’t mean it can’t be good though. Take for instance the Perch Sandwich. Unless you have the ability to buy a large piece of whole fish daily and cut to order, you’re best off with frozen. Fish and seafood deteriorate as such a rapid level, IQF is the way to go. Here, locally caught Perch from Lake Erie is enveloped in a crunch, tasty batter. Encasing the delicate tasting and creamy fish. Topped with mayo, lettuce and tomato on a dinner roll it’s one fine sandwich.
I added a nice pile of Hash Browns (with onion) on the side and they were quite satisfactory.

Now for the pies.
 
Mrs. Sippi went with the Cherry Crumb. It’s tough to say that this is the best cherry pie I’ve had. All the others have been the traditional double crust type. This has your typical “Crumble” on top and it adds a dimension that’s really difficult to beat. The balance of sweet to tart from the cherries was perfect. It was spectacular.

A long standing tradition is the use of the term “Scutterbotch” which in Schmuckerese means Butterscotch. One of their more popular pies is the Scutterbotch and it’s easy to understand why. Delicious butterscotch pudding under a pile of whipped cream and caramel drizzle.

Being the gigantic chocolate fiend I am there was no way I could turn down something named Triple Chocolate Indulgence. I would however be lying if I said it was everything I hoped it would be. It was just that much better. The crust is nothing special but it’s really just an exoskeleton for the most part. On the bottom is chocolate pudding topped with chocolate mousse and garnished with hunks of chocolate brownie. I know, right?? Well, I took a couple bites and was utterly blown away. Ya see those coloured streaks in the mousse?? Well those are M&M’s. Totally unfair!!

So there you have it folks. A fantastic little family diner serving all your favourites.

You can find Schmucker’s at 2013 N. Reynolds Rd, Toledo, Oh.

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You can also find them on the web and facebook.



Well that’s all for now folks, we’ll see you next time in the food court.

Welcome to Hell

Perhaps it was a German tourist who said "So schön hell!" ("So beautifully bright!"). Commenting to his travel companion. It may have been local wives who’d say “He’s gone to hell” when their husbands would get drunk on whiskey at the tavern. Maybe just maybe it was the hellish terrain and bug problems that plagued early explorers. No one really knows what made George Reeves tell the state “Call it Hell for all I care….everyone else does” when asked what he’d like to call his town. But on October 13th, 1841, “Hell” became the official name of the tiny burg in central, lower Michigan.

Settled by Reeves in 1838 around a mill and a general store on the banks of what is now known as Hell Creek, the tiny, blink and you’ll miss it town  has become quite legendary. (George would later add the tavern.) There’s car and bike rallies every year as well as plenty of weddings. Unofficially the population sits at 266 and about the only thing that’s changed since then is the height of the dam and the addition of electricity. Although Reeves businesses have long dried up.

Hell has only one industry now. Kitsch. They survive on the selling of all things “Hell.” Tee shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, you name it.  Letters are stamped “I’ve been thru Hell” and are singed before being postmarked.

There’s the fictitious “Damnation University” (Damn U) from which you can get a diploma. The general store is named “Hell in a Handbasket” and the local watering hole is named “The Dam Site Inn” (also for its location right in front of the dam).

Opened in 1948 the Dam Site Inn is a nice rustic place with chains hanging from the ceiling and fake pyres throughout. Recently it was purchased by Jim Mills and his partner and they’ve pretty much kept the menu the same. Most things are made in house. A notable exception is the pizza dough made by a local bakery. They roast their own beef, make their own chili and hand form their own burgers.  All of this means nothing if they don’t deliver and deliver they do.

So lets give the Devil his due as it were.

We split a (pepperoni) pizza. I had the "Smitty" Burger and Mrs. Sippi had the Hot Beef Sandwich.

Mrs. Sippi’s sandwich was great. It came with mashed potatoes and smothered in a rich, home made gravy. The beef was tender and flavourful (leftover prime rib after all) and the potatoes came skin on and had a slight fruitiness to them.

My Smitty Burger is so named for the previous owner and inventor of the “Special sauce.” The burger came medium well without even requesting it and was very juicy. I wasn’t excited about the sauce. It was an amalgam of hamburger condiments (Ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, etc.) and truth be told, I’d just as soon have them put on, individually. All in all, a great burger though.

The pizza was really tasty. Thin crust, I kept it simple with only pepperoni. The best part was it had a great cheese taste. It also warmed up really well the next day which is always a good sign.

You can visit the Dam Site Inn at 4095 Patterson Lake Rd. in Hell, Michigan. (not to be confused with the Dam Site Inn in Pellston, Michigan)

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You can also visit them on the web.

Well that’s all for now. See you next time in the Food Court

Davwud

Save the Deli

In his new book "Save the Deli" journalist David Sax brings attention to the plight of the Jewish deli. Dedicated to the preservation of the Jewish delicatessen, a hallowed temple of salted and cured meats" it reads in his mission statement.
Seems that people just don't flock to a good deli the way they did 50 years ago. As such, there is little reason to do things the old school way.

It was purely but chance though that he was at Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan when we payed a visit for lunch. It was however unfortunate that he'd stepped out for a bit while we were there so we weren't able to meet him. I did purchase a copy of his book and I was able to get an employee of Zingerman's to get it autographed and mailed to me. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Zingerman's does do some old school stuff but also sources out other items. The corned beef is their own recipe and for the pastrami they created the recipe with their good friend Sy Ginsberg.
As for the food it was fantastic. We spent that night in Indianapolis and we only needed a small bite for dinner. We were both still happy and satisfied.

First up was my pastrami. It came on rye with Swiss cheese and grilled onions. The sandwich is then grilled which I really didn't feel did much to improve the sandwich. I would order it not grilled next time if I could. The pastrami its self was very good however not the best I've had. Had I done my homework a little better I'd have taken Z's advice and orderd the #48, Binny's Brooklyn Reuben. Just like a regular Reuben but with pastrami instead.

The real star was the Reuben though. Mrs. Sippi ordered her favourite sandwich and it was just plain excellent. Zingerman's own corned beef was definitely the best I've had. Very tender and had a flavour profile that I didn't find was as intense as I'm used to. It was perfectly balanced with the kraut and Swiss.

Our lunch guest ordered a roast beef sandwich. It came with cheddar cheese, lettuce & hot mustard on an onion roll. I did not sample it but he said it was quite good.

All three fressors came with a fantastic sour pickle.

We had a side order of mac and cheese and a kinish. Both were very good as well. I'd never had a knish and really didn't know what I was getting. It's always great to find something new.

Any open product is available for sampling. As you can tell by the picture it was busy so we didn't do much sampling. We did manage to get tastes of spicy anchovies and their Montreal smoked meat. The smoked meat had a good smoke profile and a beefy flavour but lacked any flavour of the brine. The girl who we were talking to said that they're going to develop their own recipe for this.

Well that's all from the Food Court for now. 'Til next time.


Davwud