You have to start somewhere, and I’m starting two miles from home at local favorite, Samantha’s.  Yesterday, I started off my birthday there with a delicious breakfast, which I have to say is my favorite meal of the day at this spot.  Lunch is good too (I can’t get enough of the lobster bisque and chicken enchilada soup), but their breakfast offers a delicious and reasonably priced alternative to this area’s popular chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel, IHOP, and midwest classic, Bob Evans.

I opted for trying something new and went all in (it was my birthday after all) for the bacon waffle.  And yes, as the name implies, they add the bacon right into the batter (and probably a little grease too), and man is it tasty!  I probably would have tried this already (had I noticed in the menu)…reminds me of Hash House in San Diego, probably my all-time favorite breakfast joint, period.  They also serve up a bacon waffle and it is do die for.  You can’t go wrong there, and I got mine loaded up with fresh blackberries on top.  Sounds a little odd, but the mix of savory and sweet is pretty cool.  And again, since it was my birthday, I wasn’t shy with some extra butter, maple syrup, and some more bacon on the side!  Bon appetite!

(Pardon my rookie blogger mistake of waiting until the waffle is half-eaten to take a photo.  I promise to do better next time.)

Enough about the waffle, you say, what about Samantha’s setting?  Well you’re going to hear me bitch a lot about the interior design of many of my local eating establishments, regardless of how much I love the food.  And its not just because I get paid to create aesthetically pleasing environments.  The truth of the matter is, I’m in Stark County Ohio, definitely not the booming, trend-setting, urban metropolis that I wish it was.  Not to say that there aren’t some interesting places to enjoy the scenery along with the food, but get used to the fact that in this area, these places are few and far between.  Samanthas, a homie diner-style “family” restaurant, is filled with traditional wood booths and decor, and I’ll tell you I could do without the inspirational quotes painted in curly letters on the walls.  But its almost always crowded, and your eyes do stay engaged with a series of ever-changing chalkboard style menu boards, scribbled with creative descriptions that you can’t find anywhere else in town.  I give them extra points for having a large menu with lots of seasonal ingredients that make for a unique set of options at every visit.  I mean, who can’t resist pumpkin pancakes in the fall?  They also keep a lovely selection of breakfast benedicts, wraps, omlettes, and more.  My mom orders a vegetarian dish with potato pancakes, sauteed veggies, and a generous smothering of hollandaise sauce.  Mmm-hmmm.

Again with a San Diego comparison (forgive me, I miss it and its cuisine terribly) I have to say that Samantha’s does conjure up memories of The Mission in North Park, another top breakfast stop if you’re on the west coast.  But at Sam’s we’ve sadly traded in the tattooed and pierced artsy waiters for the sassy young moms of Canton Ohio.  And instead of edgy art on the walls, we have corny food quotes.  But I digress.  I’ll save my ravings for The Mission for another day, but in the mean time, Samantha’s serves breakfast all day.  And if you haven’t been listening…two words: bacon waffle.