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4th of July weekend brought us to Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While there, we managed to find two interesting establishments that are worthy of note and while ‘worthy of note’ does not necessarily denote ‘good’, that doesn’t necessarily mean ‘bad’ either. Confused? Well don’t be. Read on and clarity will come to you. Here is the review on the first of these finds.
We began our culinary quest on July 3rd, and while our plans had been to enjoy the offerings of ‘The New Peter Shears Downtown’ on Sunday, much to our chagrin we found out that all ‘worthy’ dining establishments are closed in Canton on Sunday. “Hey, Canton Chamber of Commerce… want some advice on how to weather these difficult economic times? Open your doors on 3-day holiday weekends!” Now that I have vented, let us continue… 
We rearranged our dining plans and put ‘Peter Shears’ on our Saturday list and it was, in a word, FANTASTIC! Located in the sub-level of a 100-year old building, the décor is comparable to anything you will find in an upscale ‘Big City’ bistro and the place exudes a metropolitan chic and sophistication that I was not expecting in Canton, OH. If I have one negative about the place, it was the quality of the web site, which does not do this fine dining locale justice (http://www.petershears.com/).
We started with the obligatory cocktail order, Sheb had The Bahamas Martini (she was feeling particularly ‘fruity’) and I enjoyed the P.S. version of an Old Fashion. Both were good, but both paled in comparison to what was to come.
For the soup course I had the Creole Roasted Tomato Bisque garnished with Chive Oil and it was ‘Bliss in a Bowl’. The slight bite of the pepper coupled with the subtle tang from the tomato was beautifully tied together with the floral notes of the chive oil. This one is a real keeper!
When the soup course ended and the salad course drew near our expectations were running pretty high and we were not disappointed. I had the P.S. Goat Cheese Salad; tender greens with both dried and fresh strawberries, a few smokehouse croutons, candied walnuts and herbed goat cheese with just enough maple syrup vinaigrette to keep it interesting. Sheb, on the other hand opted for the daily special; a melding of arugula, Danish blue cheese and blackberries, dressed with a Muscat Grape vinaigrette. Bother offerings were outstanding!
Our main course choices continued the high level of quality with Sheb’s selection, a vegetarian linguine dish of pasta, sweet peppers, corn, baby spinach, roasted tomatoes, roasted button mushrooms all served in an herbed butter wine sauce. Sheb reports that is was blissfully delicious.
For me, it was all about the protein and I went for the Pistachio Minted Pesto Encrusted Rack of Lamb served with a sweet mint purée. Words cannot describe the tender melt-in-your-mouth texture and sublime taste. As I write these words I already miss them!
The dessert tray brought us two offerings to sample. One was very noteworthy and the other was a bit of a disappointment. The former was the Fried Banana Cheesecake topped with a bourbon caramel sauce. Salty, savory and sweet come together in this divine dish and had this been our only choice the evening would have ended on a very high note. Unfortunately, I had to ‘push the envelope’ and risk the Madagascar Vanilla Bean Crème Brule… but alas, they rushed it and the Brule had no ‘crack’ thus the top was grainy. (Call me a Brule snob, I don’t care. If you are going to do it, you gotta do it right and this just wasn’t right!)
In all this dining experience was very noteworthy and the efforts of Chef and Proprietor Nathan Mushrush are to be commended. Good job sir and keep up the great work. We may have been in ‘Little Old Canton’, but our dining experience had Chicago appeal!
- Chez
