Youngstown Eats: Pub Bricco

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pub Bricco - Akron

Bricco is an Akron mini-chain offering three different varieties of the same restaurant. The original Bricco is located in downtown Akron (and now in Cleveland). Then there is Café Bricco, which is located in the new Doubletree Hotel in Fairlawn by the Summit Mall. And last but not least is Pub Bricco, located on Merriman Road at the entrance to the Cuyahoga Valley Park System and just about five minutes from Stan Hywet Hall.

If you haven’t visited this wonderful area between Cleveland and Akron, it is worth a trip. The area includes the town of Peninsula and goes north to Hudson…it is a very pretty area with local, state, and national park offerings in all directions. We are very fortunate to have access to these areas every bit as beautiful as anything you would find in New England, especially in the fall.

At any rate, as I spend more and more time in Akron, a function of some volunteer work that I do in addition to my wife’s involvement in one of the embroidery groups associated with Stan Hywet Hall, I am coming to the conclusion that Akron restaurants tend to be a little…let’s say quirky. That’s not good or bad…it just is. For example, there is restaurant in downtown Akron that sells nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches costing up to $12.00…and they are lined up out the door. What recession?

Pub Bricco isn’t quite that, but it also has a gimmick. Its main claim to fame is a list of sandwiches. You choose the main event form of protein (from a beef patty to crab cake) and then you pick from a long list of fixin’s combinations. Not $12.00 grilled cheese, but interesting in its own right!

Pub Bricco is an okay place. It is in a plaza along Merriman Road just before you enter the wilderness that is region’s park system. While its sister restaurants tend to be more “restauranty” with white table cloths, etc…this is a beer and a sandwich joint, albeit gentrified. It absolutely fits the area in which it is located.

It has an outdoor patio. The indside has several dining rooms, but the tables are bare bones and it is dark. There is a fireplace against one wall. Service was good. Prices are reasonable. And the menu, notwithstanding the “one from column A two from column B” approach for sandwiches, offers a hearty selection of appetizers and pub grub to satisfy most pub cravings. I think I would frequent this place a lot in the winter.

Last, but not least, the most important thing about Pub Bricco is that it is located in a location that is restaurant challenged. It is difficult to find places to eat in this part of Akron. Visit Stan Hwyet on Sunday, good luck finding a place open mid Sunday afternoon. There is a Starbucks at the other end of the plaza. And a few non-mainline chains in the area, but that’s about it. So Pub Bricco wins by default.

While these folks give it the old college try, I don't know, it seems lacking on some level. I had a better than average sandwich along with some cheese soup that was not great. Some of the appetizers look interesting and next time I am there I am going to give them a try. And I know I will be back there again because I will be in that immediate area several times over the next few months and there really isn't much to from which to choose!!!

But for right now, Pub Bricco gets a semi-enthusiastic shrug, and 3 ½ meatballs. BTW, it sister restaurants look very interesting with white table cloth service and some interesting menu selections. Maybe I will try one of those.