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| - The concept is a simple, yet brilliant one. 10 different poutine dishes, 10 different sausage dishes and a carefully curated craft beer and wine selection. Everything's made fresh, in-house, with locally sourced ingredients. On paper there's really no way this couldn't be a good thing. In person it's an even better thing. First off, for the uninitiated, let's get a little bit of education out of the way.
Poutine (n) - A Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec, made with French fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy.
I know, right? Fries, cheese and gravy. It's speaking directly to my soul. But I'm a simple man, I admit. It's about time someone specialized in this gut bustingly delicious ethnic culinary creation. That's really the main draw for me. I've had poutine at several establishments in our fair city and they always fall just a bit short. The curds aren't right, the fries are soggy, the gravy tastes like it's out of a jar. With most poutine-esque dishes there's no personality. Not so the case with the poutine at Banter.
There's a bit of a learning curve here. It's not huge, but you may benefit from a little Banter 101:
Enter through the front door. You can eat inside at one of the tables or at the 10-seat bar. Walk toward the back and as soon as you see the kitchen on the left make a right. That's where the adult beverage lair is located. Wine bottles, coolers filled with packaged beer and wine. Grab what you want and take it to your table.
They charge retail price for the beer and wine and if you drink it there - and you will drink it there - they'll add on a service fee to the price. I believe it was about $2 for beer and I don't drink wine so I don't know or care what it was for wine.
They have a patio and it's pretty awesome. Beautifully decorated and landscaped, it's a cute little oasis that's right behind the main building. Be forewarned - the parking spaces back by the patio are for the residents of the apartments in the buildings around it, Don't park there. Park on the street out front or down the side street.
So, what about the beer? The craft beer selection is not huge but it's thoughtfully stocked. You'll find locals, regionals and internationals. You can buy large format bottles for sharing (or not) and your standard 12-oz bottles. They've also got a really great 10-tap draught list that features some very unique beers you probably won't find anywhere else around town. During my visit I had Founder's Sumatra Brown (imperial brown ale with Sumatra coffee) and a saison brewed with honey and apricots called Bee Squad from Goose Island. Trust me. If I have no complaints in this department, chances are you won't either.
The food. Yeah, this is some seriously delicious grub. It's fatty, it's salty, it's crispy, it's creamy, it's cheesy, it's meaty and it's fucking awesome. I'd eat here every day if I could and I'd die at 50 of a massive heart attack with a stupid smile on my face. Do like we did and get several things for sharing. There are too many things not to. On the sausage front you can eat at least half a dozen different animals at this place. We had the Ohio venison mortadella. The apple fennel slaw and the gentle gaminess of the meat were a match made in heaven. And the bun it was served in, from an Akron-area bakery, was soft and doughy and beautiful to behold.
Because we needed the illusion of eating something that was good for us, the Banter Salad. Shaved Brussels sprouts, apples, funky chunks of blue cheese, apple cider vinaigrette. Don't like Brussels sprouts? This fresh, crispy little number just might sway you. The acid punch of the dressing is also a nice foil to the richness of the poutine and makes for a nice interbite intermezzos.
The poutine is simply the best I've ever had. The basics, all equally important, are done perfectly. The fries are the house-cut, rustic skin on variety. Cooked perfectly, crispy and robust enough to stand up to the gravy onslaught. The gravy, an unctous, burnt umber liquid, enrobes the starchy sticks in meat-enriched, salty smooth goodness. Toss in some bite-sized, ooey, gooey cheese curds that fill in the cracks like edible mortar. Now the fun part.
I opted for the rabbit pot pie variant. See above for the base upon which was added fresh peas, diced carrots, onion and celery. I wish they'd been a bit more bountiful with the bunny, but it was delicious albeit a tad unseasonable. I mean it was nearly 80F outside as I ate it. My wife, a celebrant of the traditionally American, went full on Pogo. They put a fully dressed corndog on top of the aofrementioned poutine pile and dress it with coleslaw, mustard and ketchup. The sweetness of the mustard, the acidic slaw, the soft, spongy breading and the freshly-made, almost beefy-tasting Red Wattle pork hotdog. An American/Canadian mashup.
So allow me to repeat. Poutine. Craft beer (wine, if that's your thing). Sausage. Do the math and then get your butt to Banter.
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