The former Office in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood has captured a Stray Dog.
Charly Murphy, owner of Stray Dog food carts, is taking the helm in the kitchen of the Office City Tavern at 778 N. Main St. It will reopen at 3 p.m. Friday.
Before it closed in August, the bar had been going by the name Akron City Tavern; a big “The Office” sign continues to hang on the front of the building. Murphy is dubbing his effort there “Stray Dog at Akron City Tavern.”
He’s collaborating with Frank Caetta, owner of the tavern and the building in which it is located, Murphy explained this week.
“We’re taking over the kitchen and the dining-room service,” subletting from Caetta, Murphy explained. “And we’re doing an Akron-centric theme.”
The place — in a working-class area north of downtown Akron — got an interior makeover last year, when a new menu with more lower-cost items was introduced. Caetta opened the North Main Street venture in 2006 and a second Office location in 2012, at 1846 Front St. in Cuyahoga Falls.
Murphy’s Akron-centric items will include a ⅓-pound Akron Burger, which he sold at this past summer’s National Hamburger Festival in Akron. Ingredients include chipped chopped ham and Lawson’s chip dip, and it’s garnished with a Straydog pickle.
Customers also will be able to create their own burgers, choosing from a variety of toppings, and a veggie burger features a fresh portobello mushroom stuffed with a “custom blend of chickpeas and flavor.” (All the burgers, including the veggie one, run $7.)
Akron-centric also means hot BBQ chipped chopped ham sandwiches, as well as sauerkraut balls topped with homemade corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing.
Hot dogs (¼ pound, all beef) run $5. Top them with house-made coleslaw for another buck. Ribbon chips, made with fresh cut potatoes, cost $2.
It’s a fairly small, eclectic menu. Three dinners will be available; the priciest item is a 12-ounce strip steak with side salad and a baked potato for $22.
The menu also will reflect the international character of North Hill, a onetime hub for Italian immigrants that today is home to many refugees from southeast Asia.
Starters include a Nepali American Fusion Dumpling. Italian? Angel hair pasta prepared various ways; the $16 cost includes choice of protein, including lobster or chicken.
Kitchen hours are 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 3 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The bar will remain open one hour after the kitchen closes.
Murphy, who lives in North Hill, is one busy guy. Earlier this month, he opened up Stray Dog Cafe (open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays) on the ground floor of the Akron-Summit County Public Library at 75 S. Main St. downtown.
PizzaFire is sizzling
PizzaFire continues to its expand its empire.
This Thursday, the Medina County-based company will open its 13th location, at 220 S. Depeyster St. in Kent.
Starting at 11 a.m., the first 500 people at the new store get a free T-shirt, and customers can pick up scratch cards to win food.
It’s in the newly built portion of downtown that boasts restaurants and shops. The opening follows the debut of PizzaFire earlier this month in the Shops of Fairlawn off West Market Street, in the Montrose area.
The pies are made-to-order in front of customers and baked in an 800-degree oven, done Neapolitan style with a thin crust with fresh ingredients.
Founder and CEO Sean Brauser, who also started the Romeo’s Pizza chain, and his partners are working hard to get stores established in Ohio before other new pizza chains get traction.
As we’ve earlier noted, one of those chains, Blaze, will open at 5125 Dressler Road NW in the Belden Village area of Jackson Township this fall. It will be the first Northeast Ohio location for Blaze, which has more than 100 stores. Its investors include LeBron James.
Another Blaze is planned for Mentor, in Lake County.
Winners get freebies
How about an Indians win with that tea?
Cleveland-headquartered Inca Tea will give away free boxes of its Peruvian purple corn-infused tea for one day if the Indians win the World Series.
“We are confident that Cleveland will bring home the trophy, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by spreading some Cleveland love across the country,” Inca Tea founder and TeaEO Ryan Florio said in a news release. (Yes, TeaEO is his title.)
Florio said in an email that he is a lifelong Indians fan, and his father would take him to the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Does he foresee selling his tea at Progressive Field? He said he’d like to, once he begins bottling it.
Visit http://incatea.com to receive a downloadable coupon for one free box of the tea. The offer is good only for one day following a Cleveland championship win.
Chipotle and Taco Bell also are running freebie offers. Taco Bell says customers can get free Doritos Locos Tacos as part of its “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion. Here’s info: https://www.tacobell.com/stealabase.
Local customers wearing Cleveland Indians baseball gear will qualify for a buy-one, get-one deal at Chipotle: https://chipotle.com/cleveland-baseball-promo.
Jewish fest returns
The Art and Jewish Food Festival is back. After drawing crowds two years ago, it is returning to Temple Israel on Nov. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Works by artists and crafters will be for sale, and this year there will be a separate take-out line. Feast on matzo ball soup, stuffed cabbage, potato knishes, potato latkes, corned beef sandwiches, kugel and more.
The festival will allow the community to meet Rabbi Joshua Brown, who was named rabbi at the synagogue earlier this year. The Temple Israel Sisterhood organizes the event. Temple Israel is at 91 Springside Drive in the Montrose area of Bath Township.
Free admission and parking. For information, go to www.templeisraelakron.org.
Cabbage rolls in Green
Boy Scouts and real-deal food go together in Green.
The third annual cabbage roll fundraiser for Boy Scout Troop 334 will run from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, 1800 Steese Road in Green.
The Sunday dinner features two rolls, sauerkraut from Hermann’s Pickles of Portage County, real mashed potatoes, corn bread and a beverage. Cost is $8. The child’s meal, with one cabbage roll, is $6.
The made-from-scratch beef, pork and rice rolls will also be available for bulk carryout purchase from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the church. Price is $3 each, six for $16 and a dozen for $30.
Marty LaConte, who has organized other foodcentric events to benefit the troop, is again helping with the dinner. The cabbage rolls will be made with the recipe from her Slovak grandmother. Members of the Boy Scouts Venture Crew will sell homemade pumpkin rolls.
Wine tastings
• Cellar 59, the wine bar and shop in a renovated farmhouse at 3984 Kent Road in Stow, will host its fourth annual Fall Tasting from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 13, featuring 20 wines accompanied by light appetizers. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Call 330-688-2684.
• Papa Joe’s at 1561 Akron-Peninsula Road in Cuyahoga Falls will offer a Progressive Wine Dinner with Vinifera Imports at 6 p.m. Nov. 11. Tastings of 12 wines will be followed by an Italian family-style dinner. Cost is $85. Call 330-923-7999 for reservations.
• Friday: Fall/Winter Top 16 wine list tasting; Fishers at 8100 Cleveland Ave. NW in Plain Township, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.; cost is $5.
• Tuesday: Five-course dinner with six wines, featuring Clyde Gilbert from Rombauer Vineyards at Ken Stewart’s Grille, 1970 W. Market St. in Akron, at 6:30 p.m. $90 plus tax and tip. Reservations required. Call Terry Kemp at 330-697-6917.
Open for holiday?
A reader asks what area restaurants are open on Thanksgiving Day, which this year is Nov. 24.
If you are a restaurant operator and your establishment will be open, let me know. See below for my contact information.
Here are three spots we know of: Tangier in Akron, buffet from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Galaxy in Wadsworth, buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Papa Joe’s in Akron, limited menu featuring Thanksgiving favorites from noon to 8 p.m., while its Italian Market, where customers can pick up a dinner to go, will be open the same hours.
Tastings at Kirbie’s
Every Saturday in November, Kirbie’s Family Meats & Catering, 4062 Fishcreek Road, Stow, will host pre-holiday tastings from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Nov. 5, employees will prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal, with Kirbie’s Original brined turkey, trimmings and sides, including candied yams. Subsequent Saturdays will feature different flavors of brined turkey and different sides.
The store is in the Oregon Trails plaza. Phone 330-688-4333.
Nuevo celebration
Nuevo Modern Mexican and Tequila Bar at Mill and High streets in downtown Akron will celebrate Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Two members of Ahi-Nam will play Latin music beginning at 7 p.m. Food and drink specials will be available, along with a raffle of gift baskets. Patrons are encouraged to wear costumes or painted faces.
Reservations must be made by phone. Call 330-762-8000.
Update your recipes
Chef Brandt Evans of Blue Canyon Kitchen and Tavern in Twinsburg and Pura Vida in Cleveland will demonstrate how to make family recipes more contemporary at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Hudson Library & Historical Society.
Attendees are encouraged to bring recipes to discuss and update.
Evans, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, is the owner of BKM Hospitality, Pura Vida and is a partner of Blue Canyon.
Register for this free program online at http://hudsonlibrary.org or call 330-653-6658, ext. 1010. The library is at 96 Library St. in the First & Main shopping complex.
UA graduates cook
The Fall Graduate Chef Dinner at the University of Akron’s Crystal Room Bistro inside Gallucci Hall at 200 E. Exchange St., will be Nov. 5. The event brings graduates of UA’s hospitality program back to campus to cook an eight-course meal for the public.
Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a cash bar will offer wine and beer. Tickets are $50.
Phone 330-972-6615 for reservations, which are required. Money raised will benefit the student Culinary Artists Club.
Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com and read the Akron Dish blog at www.ohio.com/food.