Steakhouses Archives - Bob on Books

brown-derby Did you ever go on a date to the Brown Derby restaurant? It was one of those places where you went for a nice evening out. At one time, you had uniformed waiters, white table clothes, good steaks, decent house wines, a quiet atmosphere, and it wasn’t an absolute budget-breaker.

It’s a place that has special memories for me. That’s where I asked my wife to marry me, back in the spring of 1977, between dinner and dessert. She said “yes” and never was a dessert so good. We had many chances to re-live those memories because it was also one of my parent’s favorite places to which we took them for many birthday and anniversary celebrations. My mom always loved a good steak.

The Brown Derby Restaurant (later Roadhouse) at 2537 South Avenue was not a local family restaurant, but part of a chain started by Gus Girves in Akron in 1941. It is no longer in business but the restaurant chain still operates five restaurants in the Cleveland area. According to Classic Restaurants of Youngstown the restaurant opened in the 1950s on Market Street and later relocated to South Avenue.

We lived in Cleveland in the 1980’s and went to several Brown Derbys, one in North Randall, near where we lived and one in Hudson, a bit more upscale. They had great salad bars that were quite inexpensive at lunch. We still talk about one visit when our son was just a toddler and we attempted to celebrate our anniversary with him rather than get a sitter. He thoroughly enjoyed his dinner. At his age utensils, unfortunately were optional and by the time we left it looked like we all had been in a food fight!

We moved to Columbus in 1990. Brown Derby used to have restaurants here, and we ate at one once or twice before they closed. Back in Youngstown, the restaurant on South Avenue as well as the one on 422 in Niles became Roadhouses, more casual in style. Eventually we started taking the parents out to one of the steakhouses in Boardman on our visits home.

The restaurant in Niles closed in the fall of 2013. I could not find out when the South Avenue restaurant closed but suspect it was some time earlier. While the Brown Derby was not a Youngstown original, in the 1960’s and ’70’s, it was a great, affordable place for a nice dinner out on a date night and a great place for family gatherings. It’s another one of those places that seemed to weave in and out of the fabric of our lives.

What are your memories of the Brown Derby?

Yesterday I wrote about the places we sleep when we are on the road. Well today I am home, and we celebrated by going out to a local steakhouse, modestly priced, that gave us top rate treatment. So I thought I would reflect on some of the factors that made for a good dining experience. Once again, I would argue that none of these need be limited to only the best restaurants.

1. They didn’t try to mix restaurant and sports bar. It seems that more and more modestly-priced establishments are trying to do this to bring in customers. I confess that I am easily distracted by TV screens. But sometimes you really want to focus on the one you are with. I wish I were better at not being distracted by these things but perhaps a better plan for me when I want to enjoy good conversation with my wife or other good friends is to go to a place that remembers that often eating out is simply about good food and conversation.

2. Neither of us are the slender, svelte people we were in college! Thankfully they didn’t try to shoehorn us into one of those tiny booths for people who are.

3. They didn’t rush us or treat us like we were on an assembly line. Our wait-person worked with the kitchen so that food came out when we had finished the previous dish we were eating. This made for a leisurely, enjoyable experience. So often you can’t finish an appetizer before the salad arrives, or the salad before the entree. And sometimes it feels like you have to hold onto your plate for dear life if you don’t want it taken away! Not today.

4. Our food was prepared the way we wanted it. We like steaks medium. Often they come to the table medium-well to well done. I hate to send food back when it is overcooked because I know it will be tossed. So if it isn’t burnt to a crisp, I probably won’t. Didn’t even need to think about it–just right, tasty and juicy.

5. Our wait-person was there when we wanted her and not otherwise. Personally, I hate the “are you still doing well?” question. I either feel like I’m getting graded are am tempted to say, “I was until three minutes ago, and then things really went south!” The check was presented just as we were finishing dinner and declined dessert, was accurate and quickly processed.

None of this is rocket science. It seems to me that any sit down restaurant can do these things. So many do not and it seems to me that the only explanation of this is either poor training, procedures and management, or that they take the customers for granted.

Sometimes you simply want a leisurely, satisfying meal. For those who follow this blog because of the focus on books, it is not unlike those days we leisurely curl up with a good book and immerse ourselves in it. Today was one of those days when it came to eating and because they did so well, I want to give a shout-out to the Longhorn Steakhouse at 6035 Blazer Memorial Pkwy., Dublin, OH 43017.