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BELLY
UP TO THE BAR
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| Moe's
in Rossford goes beyond bar food by
Chef John E. Clark |
Moe’s
Place
620 Dixie Hwy., Rossford
419-666-9314
Fax carryout 419-666-0017
Casual dress
Mon-Fri: 6 a.m.-2:30 a.m.
Sat: 7 a.m.-2:30 a.m.
Sun: open at noon
More than a century ago, the founders of the
firm that became the giant Libbey-Owens-Ford
Glass Co. discovered that a small area just
outside of the city of Toledo had much to
offer. The area, now known as Rossford was
named after Caroline Jane Ross Ford, the
second wife of Rossford's founder Edward Ford
of the famed Edward Ford Plate Glass Co. The
area offered the three advantages that have
always attracted development —
"location, location, location." The
presence of highway, railway and the Great
Lakes Port gave the glass plant access to not
just regional and national markets, but to
worldwide markets. Many traditions are
plentiful in the sleepy Northwest Ohio city of
Rossford and one we discovered was Moe’s
Place. Glass workers, local residences and
sports enthusiasts have been making this
downtown location a Rossford tradition for
more than 50 years.
After investigating the history of Moe's
Place, we find that there has been a tavern in
that location since just after Prohibition.
One person said he has been a patron at
Moe’s since he was 10 when his parents took
him there every week for the fried fish
special. Some 25 years ago, John and Mary
Holeska owned the establishment and later sold
it to Rossford resident Moe Minarcin. Moe sold
his operation on Dixie Highway to his
brother-in-law and lifelong Rossford resident,
Joe "Harpo" Haddad. Haddad's history
was in sales (he dealt in car parts and also
worked for Coca-Cola) and Moe’s Place is his
first venture in bar and food. The place has
the usual array of neon signs, posters, local
softball team trophies, TVs, video games and
dartboards. But Moe’s expands the sports bar
into serving a variety of foods for his many
regulars and new patrons through the extensive
six-page menu that rivals many of today’s
full-service restaurants.
The fare at Moe’s includes 24 sandwiches, 10
salads, fryer finger goodies, pizzas, soups
and Moe’s specialties like the bull dog
($2.95). This beast is a certified Angus beef
quarter-pound hot dog for all of those
baseball fans to enjoy while watching their
favorite team.
There is also an entire page of the menu
devoted to Moe’s balls, which are lightly
breaded chicken nugget balls. The double
whammy is smothered in bleu cheese ($5.95) and
the sloppy moe balls are coated with hot and
spicy barbecue sauce, or with chili and melted
cheese ($6.25). Breakfast is served from
6:30-10 a.m. daily, offering everything from
oatmeal and toast ($2.25) to two eggs with
steak, home fries and toast ($6.25).
We arrived before the 4 p.m. dinner hour when
nightly specials are offered including the
"Taco Tuesday," with 50-cent tacos
and margarita specials. There’s also
beer-battered shrimp ($5.95) available, with a
generous portion of thin-skin fries. This is
bar dining at its finest without all the
modern, smartly decorated furnishings with
forest green leather chairs and hand-crafted
mahogany tables. The tradition of Moe’s is
grounded firmly in friendly service, cold
beverages and plenty of fine eats to be
enjoyed by its crowd of regulars and new
friends.
We’d love to hear your
opinion on this restaurant. Send comments to sathanas@toledocitypaper.com |
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