AnuR

Thanks! I've always enjoyed reading Jane's articles, and am glad to hear she's got her newsletter up and running again.

White Lotus, I’m so sorry I missed seeing your post earlier – I really enjoyed meeting you and Dance at Light Bistro (the Heartland gathering) and would have loved to have taken you around Akron. If you plan to be back in the area, here are some of my favorites in the Akron area (besides Luigi’s and Aladdins which have already been mentioned): Vaccaro’s Trattoria, Mr. G’s pizzeria (wood-fired, foldable pizza), Thyme (in Medina) for chef John Kolar's creative dishes, Russo’s (Cuyahoga Falls) for wonderful Cajun-influenced food. A little further in Hudson you'll find Downtown 140, a lovely wine and tapas bar, and North End Market, a casual eighborhood wine store and cafe in Hudson. Back to Akron "local food": R.W. Apple used to love Swensons (the drive in is one of my guilty pleasures!); other local foods include Barberton fried chicken and sauerkraut balls. West Side Bakery has beautiful pastries, and Ninni's Bakery in Tallmadge has another local favorite: Italian wedding cake (sponge cake tiers with a rum-flavored custard). West Point Market is a wonderful store for foodies, and has the most amazing cheese selection. If you plan to be back in the area, please e-mail me.

According to Ayurvedic practice (and my mom!) ghee gets better as it ages (the medicinal properties are said to increase.) Just make sure that you don't let any water or moisture come in contact with the ghee once it's made. Growing up in India, the ghee was always stored on the shelf rather than in the fridge. But when I make it here, I refrigerate it (just in case I haven't eliminated all the milk solids).

The Calatrava addition is stunning. This is certainly not fine dining, but we had a great lunch at African Hut. We tried out about half the menu, and everything was pretty good. Never having tried Nigerian food before, we weren't sure of what to expect, but it had a many flavors and ingredients common to Indian food.