West & Main, Warren Ohio
Upon arriving, we were greeted and sat very quickly. A small, welcoming restaurant with maybe 15 tables and a 10 seat bar.
The first thing I was impressed with was the simplicity of the menu. One side, with 10 "Mainstays" and a few options A La Carte. Very appealing.
But what I'll say about having a simplistic menu, is that you need to not only be consistent, but those 10 options need to be at a certain level. I was not impressed by what I ordered.
Let's start with the BEAUCHENE'S Poutine ($14),
"crispy fries, topped with slow BRAISED SHORT RIB, red wine . . . . demi glace, fried cheese curds, shishito peppers, local farm fresh fried egg"
The fries were obviously frozen bagged, and unseasoned with even salt and pepper. I understand house fries can be hard to get a good crisp on, but if you're going to do frozen fries, they at least need to be seasoned.
I couldn't find a single cheese curd until I started digging around near the bottom. They were drowned in the red wine sauce and soggy.
The braised short rib was moist yet didn't have the flavor profile I was expecting. The entire bowl was missing key elements to bring the flavors all together.
It has so much opportunity to be good. But right now from a critical perspective, it's not there. Was it edible? Yes. I'll give it a 5/10.
Now onto the Nashville hot chicken sandwich ($13),
"buttermilk fried CHICKEN breast, house made hot sauce and . . . Nashville spice dusted, lettuce, tomato, dill pickle mayo, brioche bun, fries"
The first thing I noticed was the breading was not crisp like you expect a fried chicken sandwich to be. It was cooked thoroughly, but the breading was wet in spots, and it did not have the crunch that you want.
Now the taste, which was overthrown by vinegar. Along with a very vinegary taste, there was no crunch, and the sauce was not hot. When I eat a Nashville hot chicken sandwich I expect my nose to be running and have a tear running down my cheek.
As the poutine, the Nashville hot was missing key elements to make everything work. Edible? For some. But as I said before coming from a critical perspective, this also wasn't there. 4/10 for the Nashville hot.
Lastly, the "Truffle & Romano fries"
These are the same fries used in the Poutine. Covered in truffle oil (I'm guessing white) and Parmesan. The one thing I liked about these is they weren't soaked in oil like places I've had before. They were nicely coated. 6.8/10 for the truffle fries. Nothing spectacular, but tasty.
This place really does have promise. I think it's heading the right way but hasn't perfected what they have on their menu. I'd love to come back in a year and try what will be next. The service is great and they are very welcoming. Remember, this is just my experience, as yours could be much different.
Cheers! read more