Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [173]
Putz’s is just off the highway in a little grove all its own (on a street that was rechristened to honor the longtime favorite destination-dessert place). There are pleasant picnic tables alongside that are an ideal place to spoon into creamy-whip perfection. For us, a sundae here defines summer in Cincinnati.
Swensons
18 S. Hawkin Ave.
330–864–8416
Akron, OH
LD | $
Pull into a space and flash your lights. Out sprints a curb boy to take your order. Apparently, most customers know the kitchen’s repertoire so well that menus are superfluous—we didn’t get one until we requested it. And besides, the vast majority of customers get what Swensons is famous for: hamburgers.
Top-of-the-line is the Galley Boy, a double cheeseburger dressed with two sauces, one mayonnaisey with bits of onion added, the other zesty barbecue. Optional condiments include ketchup, relish, sweet pickles, horseradish, Worcestershire, Tabasco, cocktail sauce, Coney sauce, honey mustard, tartar, and Cajun spice. Garnish choices are tomato, lettuce, olives, grilled onions, hot peppers, bacon, and coleslaw.
Beyond burgers the menu lists a quarter-pound all-beef bologna sandwich, salads, soups, fried chicken, and shrimp. Among the beverages are milkshakes and malts, something called a California (it reminded us of Kool-Aid), and half-and-half (tea and lemonade). French fries, which we didn’t try, are listed as “Only Idaho’s,” the dubious apostrophe apparently having migrated from the restaurant name, Swensons, which doesn’t contain one on the outdoor sign or menu.
Swensons has no indoor seats. Meals to be eaten here are presented on sturdy trays that clip onto the inside of car windows in such a way that it’s possible to dine in comfort even when it’s raining.
White Turkey Drive-In
388 E. Main Rd.
440–593–2209
Conneaut, OH
LD (Mother’s Day through Labor Day) | $
“If you find yourself along Lake Erie in the northeast corner of Ohio, pull into the White Turkey, a seriously vintage drive-in.” So wrote a Roadfood tipster in a note with no return address and no ID. So we don’t really know who to thank for this suggestion, but we sure would like to! This Richardson’s Root Beer stand is a quintessential Roadfood stop along old US 20, offering seats at high stools where you can feel a lake breeze and watch the cars cruise past while you dine on true mid-America, mid-century drive-in fare.
The namesake turkey sandwich is the real thing. No turkey loaf here! You can get a plain one or a “Large Marge,” which also includes cheese and bacon. And beyond turkey, there are Big Ed one-third-pound burgers, hot dogs, and chili cheese dogs.
While only one flavor of ice cream is available—vanilla—the variety of soda fountain drinks and desserts is mesmerizing. Of course there are cones, shakes, and malts; there are sundaes topped with your choice of pineapple, cherry, chocolate, hot fudge, butterscotch caramel fudge, strawberry, grasshopper, or mint. You can get a black cow (here, a blend of root beer and ice cream). And the root beer floats are divine, available in sizes from kiddie (80 cents) to Super Shuper, created with a quart of root beer and a quantity of ice cream to match.
Young’s Jersey Dairy
6880 Springfield-Xenia Rd.
937–325–0629
Yellow Springs, OH
BLD | $
There’s something for everyone at Young’s Jersey Dairy: a goat-petting zoo, a farm-themed gift shop, a miniature golf course (Udders and Putters), a picnic grounds where you can have catered meals, summertime wagon rides around the farm, a serious restaurant (just up the road) that serves local produce, identified by which farm it came from, and a June-to-October art exhibit of statuary cows painted by local artists. Recently, a gourmet coffee shop was added, offering espresso drinks, gelato, and wireless Internet access. All great stuff, but for us, Young’s will always