TJ Chumps-Miamisburg,OH USA

I had no no idea that Ohio even had a town called " Miamisburg". But, they do and I found it while en route to Tennessee.

I pulled into town aroud noon and decided that I needed lunch. After scoping out the downtown, I found TJ CHUMPS.

What drew my attention to this restaurant was the spacious, covered outdoor patio. I'm not kidding, it has probably one of the more estetcially pleasing patios I've see in quite sometime. Anyway, it was a cloudy, humid day and the thought of sitting outside after being in a car for 4 hours was appealing.

I arrived around noon, and there were just a few patrons inside the restaurant. I was seated outside, and enjoyed the comfort of the breeze lightly blowing through the patio. I watched some dumb ESPN broadcast on one of the patio's many T.V's while waiting for my waitress.

After only a few brief moments, my waitress arrived and took my order: A "Bud Light" draft and a cheeseburger.

The beer arrived and it swear to god it was the coldest beer I've ever had. I've drank beer from Moonstone to Nairobi, and I've never had beer that went down so good. The fact the young waitress was hot and it was 34 degrees Celsius probably didn't hurt either.

The cheeseburger was moist, cooked medium and had just enough lean meat that it was flavourful but not tough or stringy. The tomato and onion on the 'burg were fresh and the bun wasn't your run of the mill "white flour" brand.

It was a great lunch and at ridiculously low price of something like 8 bucks. I can't recall right off hand, because in my haste to leave, I left my receipt on the table. Believe me if I didn't have to hit the road, I would have drank "Bud" and looked into the waitresses baby blues all afternoon.

The little pub is a gem. I would highly recommend it.

Just don't stare too long at the dumb sports on ESPN.

revolver-Findlay,OH, USA

Guy Ritchie used to be pretty cool. Then he went and married that Madonna woman, and every thing went south for him. That dumb remake of that beach flick, a lukewarm
"Sherlock Holmes" and that cheesy movie "Revolver".

Imagine my surprise when I pulled into Findlay,Ohio and stumbled across a bistro called "revolver". Given the high quality of the food and service, I'm going to assume that the restaurant's owner is not a Guy Rithcie fan. Thank the gods for that.

I got to the joint around 5:30 or so, and already it was filling up. It looks like the owner studied the minimalist movement in school, as the interior is painted industrial white. The table and chairs look like something you might find at a garage sale in Winnipeg in the 1960's and the woman who seated me is about the same age as Martha Stewart, but with twice the IQ and fashion sense. I'm not kidding man, If I wasn't married I would have hit on her. I had a dog eared copy of "Of Human Bondage", and she proceeded to give me a critique without being condescending. All the while looking at me with a healthy grin. Whatever that means...

But,back to my meal. I had the "sweetcorn chowder" to start with. I usually don't like this type of soup, but this was exceptional. It was topped with fresh mushrooms and was piping hot.

My main course was a dish with Peking duck, sausage and red onions. I know that sounds weird, but it was exquisite. The duck was well done without being tough and the sausage was flavourful and offset the whole dish.

I had the "house red" to compliment the meal. It was Californian I think, but at this point I didn't care. My waitress's conversation and the ribs of the duck had me intoxicated.

I'm going to give this find: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This is probably the best restaurant Findlay has seen in quite awhile.

My mission statement..

Your humble author started this blog for one simple reason: To document and comment about every joint I've eaten in since the latter part of July 2010.

Please enjoy the ride. Every comment I make about the following restaurants is not fueled by malice, but by my love of food.