River City Bar & Grille
 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio         Date of Visit  06/16/12         
 http://www.facebook.com/pages/River-City-Bar-Grille/115843365102952

Having given the Silver Swan a try in Cuyahoga Falls we were essentially duty bound to try out the competition less than a block away. The River City Grill is just around the corner from the Swan and is surrounded by food purveyors from grocery to doughnuts and ice cream. The doughnuts and ice cream are pretty darn good. Let’s see if anyone’s restaurant/bar can keep pace.
 

Every Table Has Some Bar Fame
 

The interior of River City is much more modern and clean than that of the Swan. The consumers also appear more modern and clean; I didn’t need to renew my vaccinations after leaving River City. The customers during our visit were still more bar patrons than diners with one woman in particular who had her volume control broken with beer number two, her no-one wants to hear everything that happens in my head censor passed out at beer number two, and everybody is my friend and wants to talk to me delusions engaged with beer number three. She appeared to be on beer number twelve while we were there.

Our server was a saint and took several “secret service” style maneuvers to save the customers who weren’t already headed for the door. Somehow she managed to find her sunny disposition every time she walked to our table, don’t know how she did it after being asked (shouted at) about whether she liked cookies incessantly over and over. If only what she brought to the table was as good as the service.
 

We tried a half dozen wings, chili, a chicken sandwich and a burger. The menu says the chili is famous. I think that means a lot of people know about it. There isn’t much reason to know about the chili at River City. It does have chunks of beef and some spice but it remains a thin and forgettable version. Apparently when you order menus anymore there is a box you have to fill for something famous and on the last order the River City owner said, Oh, I don’t know…howbout chili? The wings could have and should have  been better than the chili, but no. Big limbs, hot and tangy sauce. I just wish they had bothered to cook the bigger wing sections all the way through. Potential salmonella does little to enhance the dining experience.
 

The burger wasn’t bad. A little bleu cheese and a patty on a bun with chips. The Swan is in comparative company. The chicken sandwich (Buffalo) was a grilled disappointment. The sauce again was traditional and tasty, the chicken imparted a too long in the fridge sort of taste that managed to overpower hot sauce. I am often close to River City Grill and The Silver Swan around lunch time and while I enjoy their particular local flavor the flavors on the plates encourage me to drive a little further. Maybe back to the Blue Door. MMMmmmmmm.