The Bhutanese community continues to spread culture through the local food scene, with the opening of a new Nepali and Indian Restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls.
Longtime area chain Brubaker’s Pubs has a new owner. In West Akron, customers at Nickleby’s have been saying goodbye to a bartender who began working there in 1981. That’s when Ronald Reagan was president; just thought I’d throw that in there for historical context during this election year.
And I’m serving you up some other food news.
First, we’ll go to the Falls, where the Everest Nepali and Indian Restaurant opened last month in the former Raj Mahal, 2033 State Road.
In a small shopping strip just north of Broad Boulevard, it isn’t just an Indian eatery with a few Nepali dishes thrown in for good measure.
“There are two menus, one Indian and one Nepali,” explained Sanju Poudel. She operates the place with her brother, Sanjay Poudel, and their father, Lishan Poudel, bought the business.
After Raj Mahal closed earlier this year, the Poudel family freshened up the place, giving the walls a coat of white paint and installing new kitchen equipment.
The Poudels moved to Ohio in 2013, after initially settling in Washington state in 2009. They arrived in this country from a refugee camp in Nepal, a small country in Southeast Asia that is squeezed between China to the north and India to the south. Lishan Poudel, 47, entered Nepal from Bhutan, while his children were born in the camp.
The name of the restaurant is an homage to Nepal, where Mount Everest straddles the border with Tibet.
So what’s on the Nepali menu? It includes vegetable, mutton and pork momos (dumplings), which you can get fried or steamed; vegetable, mutton or chicken thali; and mutton, chicken, vegetable and chickpea curry. Nepali chow mein features wheat flour spaghetti fried with vegetables and meats.
My introduction to chow mein was at the Nepali Kitchen, which opened in 2015 at 399 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave. Opened by two Bhutanese refugees, it is in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood, where many refugees have settled. The neighborhood is home to resettlement agency the International Institute.
And thankfully, like Nepali Kitchen, Everest’s beverages include mango lassi, made here with mango pulp and fresh housemade yogurt.
Business has been good for a new place that is still trying to get the word out, she said, noting that the family did a bit of guerrilla advertising, putting fliers on the windshields of cars at area businesses. Poudel, who worked in restaurants in Washington, said she’s delighted — and not too surprised — that a lot of the Nepali food orders come from Americans.
Those from Bhutan and Nepal, “they can eat that every day,” she said with a laugh.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Monday, closed on Tuesday. A buffet with Indian and some Nepali dishes is served during lunch hours. Phone is 234-706-6630. The restaurant has a Facebook page; type in Everest Restaurant and Cuyahoga Falls. The website is https://everestrestaurant.net.
New owner for pubs
Brubaker’s Pubs, which began with a single bar/restaurant in 1977 and now boasts six locations, has a new owner.
The original owner, Nancy Breen, sold the pubs to a partnership headed by Scott Arbuthnot, president of Hallrich Inc., the Stow-headquartered Pizza Hut franchisee.
Carol Magazzeni, head of marketing for the new owner, Brubakers Pubs LP, stressed that Hallrich and Brubakers are separate businesses. Arbuthnot is managing partner of Brubakers Pubs LP. (There’s no apostrophe in the new business’ name. Don’t ask me why.)
Magazzeni said they’re working on new menu items, with a plan to “become a little more Irish in our menus.” One boozy note: new whiskey-based specialty drinks.
She said the popular golf outing for customers and vendors will go on. This year’s event is scheduled for June 26 at the Fox Den Golf Course.
The annual Kentucky Derby party will be May 7, at the Hudson location, 5823 Darrow Road. Hats are encouraged; mint juleps will be a featured drink. TVs will be tuned to the race with post time about 6:34 p.m.
Magazzeni noted that the Brubaker’s Pubs are hiring. Other locations are in downtown Akron, Bath Township, the Chapel Hill area, Green and Stow.
Here’s some trivia. The Brubaker’s name is a combination of Nancy Breen’s former last name (Baker) with her son’s name (Scott Brewer).
Bartender retiring
Speaking of area pubs … actually, speaking of those who make area pubs run: Wednesday marks the last day for longtime Nickleby’s Lounge bartender Jacki Horvath, who is retiring after 35 years at the bar at 1947 W. Market St. in Akron, in the little shopping plaza behind the CVS.
Mickey Porter, retired Beacon Journal columnist, told me about Horvath’s last day, figuring patrons would want to stop in and wish her good tidings.
“Everybody in the bar is crushed,” Porter said. “Everybody has asked her to reconsider. She is the most lovable bartender.” Horvath’s husband, Lou, also is retiring.
Earth Fare opening
Earth Fare, the organic and natural foods grocery chain, will open May 18 at the Venue, 3939 Everhard Road, Plain Township, its fourth location in Ohio.
The grand opening celebration will begin shortly before 7 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Free samples, product demonstrations, live music and other activities are on the bill.
The chain, founded in 1975 in Asheville, N.C., opened its first area store in 2011 in Shops of Fairlawn, not far from the locally owned organic and natural food store Mustard Seed Market. The other Earth Fare stores in Ohio are in Fairview Park, outside Cleveland, and north of Columbus.
The North Canton Earth Fare is not far from the Ohio-owned Raisin Rack at 4629 Cleveland Ave. NW in Plain Township. And in 2014, Fishers Foods opened an expanded natural, health food and organic section within its existing store at 5215 Fulton Road NW, in Jackson Township.
Coming up in Akron on May 10 is the celebration of the $9 million remodeling of the Acme Fresh Market (Acme No. 1) at 1835 W. Market St. The store, part of the Akron-headquartered F.W. Albrecht Grocery Co. chain that is celebrating its 125th year, stayed open during the remodeling that began last year.
Area wine events
Wednesday’s wine dinner at Papa Joe’s in Akron, featuring award-winning winemaker and Akron native Jim Clendenen, is a sellout. But here are some wine events with spaces available:
• Area wine importer John Bee, who spends a large part of the year in Italy, will lead a Nebbiolo Wine Dinner at 6 p.m. May 18 at D’Agnese’s Trattoria and Cafe at 566 White Pond Drive, Akron. Nebbiolo is a variety of red wine primarily associated with Italy’s Piedmont region. Cost is $50. Call 234-678-3612 for reservations.
• 3 Point, 45 E. Market St. in downtown Akron, will host a Wines of Australia/New Zealand dinner at 7 p.m. May 9. Executive chef Josh Pere created an Aussie menu featuring traditional kumara salad, shrimp on the barbie, Australian meat pie and herb roasted rack of lamb with crispy Brussels sprouts and rosemary redskin potatoes. Cost is $60. For reservations, call 330-535-6410 or click on the “Reservations” tab at http://3pointrestaurant.com/
• Fishers Foods will host its annual Top 16 Spring-Summer White Wines tasting from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 6 at its Jackson Township store, 5215 Fulton Drive NW, and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 20 at its Plain Township store, 8100 Cleveland Ave. NW. Company president Jeff Fisher and employees of the family-owned Fishers Foods taste dozens of wines to select the top 16 for seasonal lists. Food samples will be available. Cost is $5 for four 2-ounce wine samples.
• Ken Stewart’s Grille, 1970 W. Market St., Akron, will have a wine dinner at 6:30 p.m. May 12 featuring Ferrari-Carano wines of Sonoma County, Calif.
The menu includes grilled zucchini with avocado carpaccio, chanterelle puff pastry with a chardonnay cream sauce, prime New York strip steak with Stilton blue cheese and pound cake with macerated berries.
Cost is $60. Call Terry Kemp at 330-697-6917.
Cookie fundraiser
There’s just a few more days to buy the puzzle-shaped cookies at West Side Bakery that promote autism awareness and raise money for the Autism Society of Greater Akron. The cookies will be available through this month at West Side Bakery’s two locations, in Akron and Green.
Ramp Up Peninsula
The fourth annual Ramp Up Peninsula festival arrives Saturday.
The area’s annual celebration of the stinky wild leek will be at Heritage Farms, 6050 Riverview Road in Peninsula. It’ll run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with food, music and craftspeople. Admission is $5; free for children under 12.
More guided walks, where participants will learn about identifying spring plants and edibles, have been added, reported organizer Diane Seskes. Don King, the Mushroom Hunter, will lead walks at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.; Tom Laskowski at noon, 2 and 3 p.m.; and Glenn Roth, with 70 years of foraging under his belt, at 1 and 3 p.m.
There’s no parking on site, except for handicap-accessible. Parking with shuttle service will be at Boston Mills Ski Resort, 7100 Riverview Road; Woodridge Intermediate School, 1930 Bronson Ave.; and the Lock 29 overflow lot on Mill Street. Shuttle stops also will be near the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train depot by the Winking Lizard; and in front of the Yellow Creek Trading Co., 1685 Main St., Peninsula. Go to www.explorepeninsula.com for information.
Celtic festival
The Scottish American Society will present its 12th Annual Celtic Beltane Festival on May 7 at Columbia Woods Park, 4070 Columbia Woods Drive, Norton. (I looked it up: Beltane is a festival celebrating the beginning of summer in the Celtic calendar.)
It’ll feature music, dancing, Highland athletic competitions (tossing telephone poles around), children’s games, vendors, Scottish baked goods for sale and more. Hey Mavis, Celtic Rush and the Red Hackle Pipe Band will perform.
Parking is free. Gates open at 10 a.m., and the event wraps up at 6 p.m. Admission benefits Pegasus Farms, the therapeutic equestrian center in Stark County’s Marlboro Township. Organizers say those age 100 and over are free, as well as age 8 and under. It’s $7 for everyone else, $20 for a family.
Primavara! Festival
The 10th annual Primavara! Festival will run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. May 21 (a little earlier than usual) at the Presentation of Our Lord Roman Orthodox Church, 3365 Ridgewood Road, Fairlawn. Admittance is free.
Ethnic foods and pastries will be for sale, along with imported beers and wines, dancers and music, and activities for children. A wine tasting will be offered. (Call 330-334-1616 for reservations).
Primavara is Romanian for “springtime.” The event has an international flavor, though the parish is of Romanian origin and the event features Romanian cuisine. Go to www.festivalofspring.org for information.
Veggie U fundraiser
The annual Veggie U fundraiser, to raise money for classroom nutrition/gardening education programs, is 7 p.m. Saturday at the 925 Building (the former Huntington Bank Building) at 925 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Cost is $100 and includes valet parking; call 440-774-8344 or email Ask@VeggieU.org. The nonprofit is headquartered in Oberlin.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/KatieByardABJ.