Four inches of snow topping a treacherous layer of ice did not keep the hard-core (but unsupported) TTA Trio from its appointed rounds on February 7. They continued their relentless northern march up Waynesville’s Main Street to Bentino's Pizza, a little storefront establishment perched almost on the curb at 140 S. Main. A compact and unpretentious little Italian-themed restaurant, Bentino’s offers reasonably priced appetizers, salads, calzones, pizzas, pastas and hoagies/gyros in a snug dining area perhaps 25-by-20 feet. Soft drinks, wines and beers are served at a small bar in one corner which doubles as the order-taking area (there is no table service). Bud Light and Yuengling are available on draft, and a small but reasonable selection of bottled beers is also offered. 

For its lunch patrons, Bentino’s had but one person running the whole show; just one man was the combined order taker/bartender/chef/server/cashier. That seemed odd, at least until the TTA Trio realized that in the time they were there, they saw only one other customer and that was just for a takeout order. Overall, service was excellent, though a total of only four customers in a span of well over an hour certainly wasn’t about to put a strain on anyone. Parking was readily available on the street (and supposedly also in a small lot in the rear), but if there was anywhere to safely park bikes, we missed it.

Bentino’s offers seven different house specialty pizzas priced at $8.99 (small 8”), $14.99 (medium 12”) and $19.99 (large 16”). Create Your Own pizzas go for $5.95 (plus $0.90/topping); $9.25 (plus $1.45/topping); and $11.99 (plus $1.95/topping). All the calzones and gyros are $6.99 and come with chips. John selected a specialty Meat Madness medium pizza (topped with a wide variety of meats) for the listed price of $14.99. Rod ordered a medium Create Your Own with pepperoni, banana peppers and black olives, which set him back $13.60. George’s small Create Your Own came with double pepperoni, sausage, black olives and onions for a total of $10.45. Neither John nor Rod was able to finish his pizza. John accompanied his pizza with a pair of Bud Light drafts. Rod began with a bottle of Great Lakes Christmas Ale, and then switched to Stella Artois. George stayed true to his craft beer commitments and stuck with a pair of Christmas Ales. Everyone was quite satisfied with their food, and there was a consensus that Bentino’s interesting technique of putting a mozzarella or provolone mixture of cheese atop each pizza before baking yielded a unique and delightfully crisp layer of browned cheese upon serving.

While all members of the TTA Trio were basically happy with their food, there nevertheless was consensus that trail users would be unlikely to return to Bentino's; essentially, the food was “acceptable, but not memorable” and access from the trail was not worth the extra effort for the product. Accordingly, Bentino’s was rated at 2.5 bells. 

Bentino’s Pizza
140 S. Main St., Waynesville, OH
Phone: 513/897-1600
Hours: Sun. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Website: bentinos-pizza.com

Feb. 2018

Resolute in their determination to eventually sample the lunch offerings of every non-chain restaurant within a mile of the trail, on January 31 the TTA Trio (John, Rod and George) continued to venture northward all the way up to the target-rich environment of Waynesville's Main Street, only half a mile off the trail from Corwin via Corwin Ave. Continuing the south-to-north pattern, the Stone House Tavern, the southernmost restaurant on Main Street, was the choice of the day. Although visible from US Rt. 42, which it overlooks, it initially was a challenge to find from Main Street. However, once the correct driveway was found a spacious parking lot appeared.

Located in an attractive L-shaped light stone building, Stonehouse Tavern offers seating both in the full bar area with a great view out over Rt. 42 and an adjacent, and quieter, dining area. The menu focuses on simple, lighter fare: appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Prices seem almost whimsical ($9.11, $9.81, $10.05, etc.) until you realize they've all been pre-calculated to come out to even multiples of 25 cents after tax! Perhaps a dozen beers are on draft, with some selections continually rotating. Currently available draft brews are posted on a series of small blackboards hung above the bar.

As the appointed noon lunch hour approached, the TTA Trio was joined at a bar table for six by Bruce Lathrop, Ron Gorley and Rich Easterly. Half the group opted for soft drinks, while the others chose from the various draft beer offerings which, to George's disappointment (if not outright consternation), did NOT include any IPAs!

Beverages in hand, appetizers were ordered for the table; first Stonehouse Tavern's signature Sauerkraut Balls ($9.11), and then a platter of White Queso Nachos with sausage (also $9.11). The consensus was that the sauerkraut balls were truly unique, delicious and memorable and well worth recommending. By contrast, the nachos, while acceptable, were quite ordinary.

The group tried a broad spectrum of the restaurant’s offerings, with Ron ordering a Club sandwich ($10.05); Bruce a Chicken Wings appetizer ($8.41) with a side of onion rings; Rod a Mushroom and Swiss Burger done medium-well ($10.28); John a Hot & Sticky Burger (with bacon, peanut butter(!), pepper jack cheese and pepper jelly, $10.98); Rich a Patty Melt ($9.81); and George a Black N’ Bleu Burger, medium rare ($10.28). All of the burgers were cooked as desired which was to the credit of the kitchen. Overall, everyone was satisfied with their food but no one was particularly impressed by it; the exceptionally high standard previously set by the sauerkraut balls just wasn’t maintained.

All the above gave rise to differing opinions among the diners: four felt Stonehouse Tavern merited four bells, while John and George couldn’t see awarding any more than three. Since everyone’s opinion carried equal weight, the final rating was resolved arithmetically which came out to be 3.67 bells. Since ratings are done by full or half bells, the closest was 3 1/2 bells which then was the final result.

Stone House Tavern
258 S. Main Street, Waynesville, OH
Phone: 513/855-4203
Website: www.shtavern.com
Hours: Sun to Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.

On January 17, the same sorry group of TTA miscreants (John and George, again ably assisted by Rod Gossett and Bruce Lathrop) backtracked a bit to Valley Vineyards, a classic winery well known in the Cincinnati metro area for some decades now. Located on US Rt. 22 in a charming rural European-style building, Valley Vineyards can be accessed from the trail by following Stubbs Mill Road for half a mile south to its intersection with Rt. 22, and then turning left onto Rt. 22 for a few hundred yards. Traffic on Stubbs Mill Road typically is light, but Rt. 22 is usually heavily traveled, so caution definitely is in order. An unpaved farm road parallels Rt. 22 on its north side for perhaps half the distance from the Stubbs Mill Road intersection to the Valley Vineyards building, and affords a means of avoiding at least some of the traffic on Rt. 22. We all agreed that given its location, trail users should consider Valley Vineyards after a day on the trail returning to either the Morrow parking lot or any of the nearby southern parking areas.

Known for its award winning wines and weekend steak, shrimp and salmon dinner cookouts, recently Valley Vineyards expanded its horizons by offering lunch fare and opening an on-site microbrewery, Cellar Dweller. Beers, wines and lunch items can be ordered at the beer bar (there is no table service) and consumed in the adjacent cozy tasting room. The lunch menu is limited (7 appetizers; 5 pizzas and 2 desserts), but offers some unique and intriguing dishes.

After given a chance to taste the Cellar Dweller brews offered by the congenial host (a son of the owners), each member of the group selected a different brew, and then sat at a table by the delightful gas fireplace in the tasting room to ponder their lunch choices. We led off with a huge (only slightly smaller than a car's steering wheel) Bavarian Pretzel accompanied by tubs of beer cheese and coarse-ground mustard ($9.50), followed by a pairing of the Founders Cheese Board (sliced cheddar, Muenster and Swiss cheeses, slices of summer sausage, a small tub of very special jelly, another small tub of almonds, and a baguette, all for $12) and a generously sized Big Chefie’s Favorite Pizza, thin crust, topped with pepperoni, sausage, bacon and chopped onion ($16). Everyone was delighted with the pretzel, which had been baked to perfection; it quickly disappeared. The accompanying beer cheese found more supporters than the coarse mustard. The cheese and sausage board didn't live up to the same standard; while there was nothing wrong with it, it was unremarkable. Almost all the components could just as easily have come from most anyone’s home kitchen. The delightfully unique jelly was the sole bright spot. The pizza, topped with a balsamic glaze and barbecue sauce, drew mixed reactions; half really liked it and the other half, well, didn’t.

Valley Vineyards is a very special place along the trail, and is well worth a visit despite its location being less accessible from the trail than many of its competitors’. Bike parking is readily available. The ambiance is truly outstanding. The staff is hospitable and there’s enough variety in the food offerings to suit just about any palate and preference. 

The TTA Crew really like beer, so the on-site brewery was a plus, but the wine spectrum is a great alternative for those who prefer their alcohol in something other than beer. Overall, we agreed Valley Vineyards merited four bells.

Valley Vineyards
2276 E. US Rt. 22, Morrow, OH
Phone: 513/899-2485
Web site: valleyvineyards.com
Lunch hours: Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sun. 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

January 2018