This week’s pick is one of those places I’ve always heard the name of – primarily from Kent State alumni or those who frequented the campus – but I really had no idea where it was or anything about it. Truth be told, I think I was expecting Ray’s Place to be more bar and less restaurant – but then again many of the people I’ve had mention the place also graduated some time ago, so maybe over the years it’s changed.
Regardless, Ray’s does have that kind of small town / college bar charm – it’s a bit cramped on the inside, with lots of tables in an area that probably shouldn’t have quite as many, if you know what I mean. But, hey, apparently that means business is booming so good for them.
Of course we migrated to a table in the back that was big enough for the four of us plus about four of our friends. But then again we also order a crapload of food for just four people, so it probably pretty much looked like a group of eight was sitting there by the time we got our meals. My bad.
Wednesdays feature Miller Lites on special for $2.75, so of course you know what three of us at the table were drinking. As usual, Ted ordered something different, which I didn’t catch the name of. But it’s good to be back to our “three sames and one of these things is not like the other” ordering pattern.
The other special on Wednesdays is wings, which again just seems like someone made the weekly specials specifically with Shane in mind. He ordered the wings with the “pig rub,” – which sounds disgusting, so he asked about in advance and was told was “sweet and salty.” One wing in, and he was proclaiming them to be in his Top 5, thus dethroning the “amazing” breaded wings from Louie’s last week. He claims he finally sees the error of his ways and really was just craving fried chicken last week, which was why those wings seemed so spectacular. Take that as you will.
Ted, on the other hand, tried two flavors of wings – the Wasabi and the Caribbean Jerk – and said he honestly wasn’t that impressed with either one. He even left about half a basket or so on the table when we left the place, if that tells you anything (the horror!).
I had the Garlic finger wrap, which is way more awkward to say than anything else. It’s chicken fingers in garlic wing sauce in a garlic wrap with veggies and cheese. That’s a lot of garlic, folks. It was tasty, but I’m sure I’m gonna regret eating the other half for lunch at the office in a few days and then having to talk to people afterwards. I also had a side order of fries, which were excellent.
Amanda had the cuban, which is served on a flatbread and looks oddly like a quesadilla. She said it was delicious. And filling, as she also only ate half of her sandwich. She got the onion rings, too – a small order, which when they arrived looked more like enough to feed the whole table, so we were a little scared what the large order must look like.
On an educational note, we did learn something on this WTGW, after a nice debate over whether or not the Caribbean Jerk wing spice includes ginger. Since Shane apparently is a ginger connoiseur after all the sushi we’ve been enjoying since our trip to Wasabi House many months ago. We even asked one of the guys working, who was nice enough to check in the back to try and settle our bet. The first response from the kitchen was that the seasoning wasn’t labeled, so the results were inconclusive. However, because I guess he must not be able to just let things lie, the guy later came back to say that one of the other cooks looked it up online and ginger *could* be included. He obviously doesn’t know Shane and how much he will continue to gloat about his super skills tastebuds now. Thanks a lot for that one, overachiever.
That may be why we didn’t feel funny going back to the same guy a bit later to ask about the drinks that the guys at the table next to us were drinking – a light beer that foamed up in the glass similar to the way a draft Guinness does. We grabbed Shane’s new spicemaster friend and inquired what they were drinking, and he knew right off the top of his head that it was Boddingtons – and without skipping a beat a passing waitress chimed in “the cream soda of beers.” Impressive teamwork. And we definitely have to remember that one to try down the line somewhere. We tried daring Shane to walk over to the strangers and ask if he could try a sip of theirs … but he claimed he wasn’t drunk enough yet. If not for his 4AM wake up call the next morning, we might’ve just stayed until that milestone was achieved. Maybe.
CAPSULE
Picked by: Amanda
Drinks: Seriously impressive beer cooler, similar to the one at Baxter’s in downtown Akron. When I was in college all we knew how to order was Bud Lite vs. Miller Lite, so obviously things have changed.
Food: Good, although once again we ate way too much.
Service: Our server wasn’t extremely personable, but the other guy (who was likely an owner or manager) gets points for putting up with all of our questions. Although he lost points for returning to make Shane right about the whole ginger thing. Seriously, do you have any idea how long we’ll have to hear about that now?
Overall: Definitely worth a return visit. Maybe on a Friday or Saturday night when we want to relive our youth and do the college bar crawl afterwards.
Next Pick: Ted
Where To Go Wednesdays 