Pretty Fly for a Walleye: A Day in Port Clinton, Ohio

Marblehead Lighthouse, just one of the many attractions located in or along
Lake Erie near the town of Port Clinton, Ohio

With the Labor Day weekend at hand, millions of folks around the country will be getting in their last summertime vacation jaunts. For many in Ohio, this means a trip up to Lake Erie to ride the coasters at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky or to enjoy the leisurely lake life on South Bass Island and Put-In-Bay.

Chances are if you're driving through here, you'll pass through the proclaimed "Walleye Capital of The World" in Port Clinton, Ohio. Lest you think that nickname is just a cute saying, community members back that up annually when they brave often windy and frigid temperatures on New Year's Eve to experience the Walleye Drop, a tradition that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.  But that's not all this town of just under 6,000 has to offer the visitor though, as we found out recently.

California Christmas Goodies from Ohio: The List (Part 2)....and a Giveaway!

A look inside Celebrate Local's Easton Mall shop in Columbus; they have
recently opened up a second location in the Cincinnati area at Liberty Center

The first half of my California Christmas Goodies from Ohio blogposts (link to the original post here) mainly featured food products from fairly diverse corners of the Buckeye State.  This second half of the series varies the product selection just a bit, reveals this year's gift to the family, and yes, we'll go into detail about our first official giveaway!

Big Craft Beer in a Small City: Small City Taphouse (Sandusky, OH)

Access to Lake Erie is just one of the reasons why locals and tourists
alike flock to Sandusky, the county seat of Erie County

The northern Ohio tourist destination that is Sandusky, best known for the world-famous roller coaster mecca Cedar Point Amusement Park, is not the first place I would expect a craft beer destination to reside. Not to say that this town of roughly 26,000 hasn't seen the effects of the state's craft beer boom - two nanobreweries in the forms of Ferndock Brewing and Amusement Ales and Brewing are currently cranking up their operations within the city limits.

Nor would I pick Sandusky as having certifiably solid restaurant specializing in Asian dishes. Heck, even a big city like Columbus still has its own issues in that department, considering a chain like P.F. Chang's can win (614)'s "ColumBest 2017" nomination for "Best Asian Restaurant."

But as the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. Small City Taphouse, comfortably embedded within Sandusky's downtown, proved to be a winning enterprise on both those points to my spouse and I during a recent visit to their location with family.

Perched by the Lake: Brennan's Fish House (Grand River, OH)

Other than our trip to Niagara Falls, my parents were very non-committal on places they wanted to visit, leaving the role of tour guide to my spouse and I. In terms of food, one definite was a Filipino restaurant, which we were happy to find in Niagara Falls itself (our experience at Manila Flavours can be found at this prior post.)

The second definite food item was a taste of Great Lakes fish, specifically walleye and perch. While my parents have had plenty of experience with ocean fish and crustaceans, fresh water lake fish has never been much of an option on their dining plates. On our way back from Buffalo, we sussed out Brennan's Fish House, perched out near the Lake Erie shoreline in the village of Grand River.

When one drives into Grand River to the area where Brennan's is located, one can sense that this is a place that had once seen both better and worse days. Adjacent to Brennan's, a fairly large lot with a closed restaurant and parking lot as well as a funky barn building with an advertisement for Mail Pouch Chew Tobacco are quite prominent. Off in the distance, one can trace the Grand River, the town's namesake, downstream to where its mouth meets Lake Erie. On this sunny day, we spotted a boat slowly chugging down the river, further enhancing the lazy vibe of this fairly hidden area of Ohio.

Some of the paraphernalia (mostly nautical) found around Brennan's

The interior of Brennan's has more than its share of nautical and fish-related paraphernalia scattered about the premises; we ended up sitting next to a mini-display devoted to the most ubiquitous of Great Lakes shipping events: the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the ore freighter which sank in a violent storm November of 1975 on Lake Superior.

The menu is also pretty typical of a seafood place, with plenty of options to get your fish and seafood jones taken care of. While most items (generally in the $10 to $20 range) are aimed for some big-time chowing down, a few items are sold in portion-sizes geared toward smaller appetites in either sandwich form or sans the bread and are friendlier to the budget. Other non-seafood basics like steak and chicken (listed on the menu as "Shore Picks") and a unique item or two (e.g. Frog Legs) are also available for restaurant-goers.

Brennan's menu and the Fried Walleye small appetite platter

Basically, we all ordered some form of the fried perch and walleye geared toward smaller appetites. Still, the portions we received still pretty substantial. Our food was prepared well, the fish was quite tasty, and we all felt quite stuffed and satisfied by the end of our lunch here. In addition, our servers couldn't be more friendly, assisting us with our menu choices and checking up on us to make sure things were going well.

Brennan's is a bit of a detour off the main Interstate between Buffalo and Cleveland (lying halfway between Ashtabula and Cleveland), but would not be too out of the way for those cruising closer to the shore (on State Route 2 or U.S. Highway 20) or for those who might have a little time to drop by an area with that has seen a nearly 180-year boom-and-bust history. If you and the residents of Grand River are lucky, you might be visiting during what the owners of the restaurant describe on the history section of their website as a "new era of growth and prosperity."

Brennan's Fish House
102 River St
Grand River, OH 44045
(440) 354-9785
Facebook   Website

Bagels and Locks (Pt. 2): The Welland Canal Lock 3 Centre and On The Front Cafe (Ontario, Canada)

The mighty Niagara Falls provides a huge roadblock to all forms of floating transport (save maybe for a random barrel or two) between the lakes of Erie and Ontario. Lesser known in the States than the Soo Locks, the 27-mile-long Welland Canal in Canada, with eight total boat locks, has acted as the main safe passageway for commercial boat traffic to negotiate the more than 300-foot-drop between these two lakes since its completion in 1829.

Some of the sights at the Welland Canal Centre at Lock 3

My dad is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and we figured seeing ships up close again would be a fun experience for both him and my mom. Located a half-hour out of Niagara Falls, the Welland Canal Lock 3 Visitor Centre in St. Catharines provides visitors with an intimate view of the ship-raising and -lowering process through these locks via a viewing platform, similar to what we found at the Soo Locks. In addition, the Centre details the development of the canal and Great Lakes shipping in a similar fashion with various displays spread throughout the grounds.

The Puffin receives a lift on its way to Lake Erie

The Lock 3 Centre has only one lock at this location (versus three at the Soo Locks facility); however, the speed by which boats are raised and lowered here at Lock 3 is much faster than its Soo counterpart. Interestingly, we found out later as we were about to leave that the operators of the facility were going to test-run a new anchoring system that would use powerful suction cups to steady a boat as it was raised and lowered. This system would lessen the need for rope anchoring and further lower the processing time for boats through this single-lock system.

This facility has a few more unique features that raises its attraction level for the typical visitor. The St. Catharines Museum is one of the better of its kind we've encountered, and it's not afraid to feature more lighthearted topics. At the time of our visit, these included a display detailing the favorite museum artifacts and memorabilia of various staff members, as well as a section featuring the beloved holiday movie "A Christmas Story." Filming for school-related scenes of the movie, detailing the quest of a young boy (played by Peter Billingsley) for a Red Rider BB gun as his Christmas gift, took place at Victoria Public School in St. Catharines.

You won't shoot your eye out at this "A Christmas Story" museum display

These displays are balanced by those featuring more "serious" history of the city and the region, including one that gave the Canadian perspective on the War of 1812 between the British and the United States, as well as the Niagara region's role in the Underground Railroad and the role that the African-Canadian settlers played in the region.

Lest you think you got more than your money's worth (technically, everything here at the Centre and Museum is free, but a donation is suggested for those who actually enter the Museum itself,) visitors to this facility can discover the role that lacrosse has played in Canada and specifically the province of Ontario by dropping by the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum at this same location. Even those absolutely unfamiliar with the sport can find enough here to perk their interest, including a display explaining the sport's origins as a Native American game (the sheer scope of their games are fascinating reading on their own) as well as a netted cage where visitors can try their hand at handling a lacrosse stick and scoring a goal. I gave it a shot myself and I can assure it is not an easy task.

The Lacrosse Museum and other Historical Displays from the the St. Catharines Museum

As far as the "bagels" mentioned in the subject line, we found out based on our research that there doesn't seem to be much in Niagara Falls rising above the Starbucks level of coffee. Jonesing for something a little better on this morning, we ventured out to the quaint town of Thorold prior to our visit to the Lock 3 Centre to visit what looked to be a promising candidate for such,

As we discovered, On The Front has a vibe something like a MoJoe Lounge or Cup O' Joe stores in Columbus, albeit on a smaller scale. The interior has a select space that invites you to hang out awhile, replete with comfy couches, a TV and a gas fireplace, as well as free wi-fi.

Their menu offers house-made pastries, a couple of hot breakfast items, fair-trade coffee ($1.50 for a small cup of joe to $4.50 for a large fancy drink; all prices listed CDN) and lunch sandwiches, five of which were created in consort with the culinary staff of Ravine Vineyard Winery in nearby St. Davids.

We all ordered coffee and a mix of either breakfast sandwiches ($3.50) and pastries ($2). No complaints - the food was solid, the coffee was tasty, and the staff at the store quite friendly and accommodating. If a place like this was in my neighborhood, I'd probably hang out here every so often myself.

As we were leaving, we noticed the business next door, The Pie Man, had a sandwich board with a list of pies of the day. A little post-trip research showed they had a rather interesting collection of both sweet and savory pies; perhaps a return trip to visit both places might be in order down the road.

2017 Update: From all indications, On The Front Cafe & Eatery has closed as of late 2016.

Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3
St. Catharines Museum
and Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum
1932 Welland Canals Parkway (Google Maps)
Saint Catharines, ON  L2R 7K6
Canada
(905) 984-8880
Facebook     Instagram     Twitter     Website

On The Front Cafe and Eatery
30 Front St S (Google Maps)
Thorold, ON  L2V 1W9
Canada
(905) 397-4734
Facebook     Twitter     Website