Whipple and Sipher's old pulley

Every restored Victorian building surrounding the greensward of Medina’s Public Square has its story.  And occasionally, some remnant, some souvenier from the past, hidden away in an attic or a dusty corner finds the light of day, and it too has a story to tell.

Gramercy Gallery

There is, for example, Gramercy Gallery at 221 South Court Street, one of a row of buildings erected in the aftermath of the devastating 1870 fire.  It is a chic and elegant shop decorated in lush Victorian style and filled with gifts, original art and antiques.  Most of the well-heeled customers who shop here have probably never seen the huge wheel pictured above.  But  proprietor Pam Miller might take you up the the attic — if she’s of a mind to — and show you the large pulley with rope and hook still intact, still ready to raise and lower boxes of glassware and crockery through the trapdoor in the ceiling, as it did the the late 1800’s when the store belonged to a couple of local merchants named Whipple and Sipher.

Their shop was a Medina institution and it supported the Whipple and Sipher families quite handsomely.  (Mr. Sipher’s very large safe remains in the back room — although it is no longer filled with money.) Both men built imposing Victorian homes during those heady days of the Gilded Age when growth and prosperity abounded in the village of Medina.

Pam Miller points out another remembrance of the past — a white fireplace surround in the main room of the shop. “I was told that it came from Doc Strong’s house on the Square, where the new courthouse stands today,” she says. The elaborate wood piece is distinctly Victorian in style — but the house it came from was built before the Civil War.  It was one of several gracious, Western Reserve-style homes that stood on the eastern side of  Public Square before the leading citizens chose to move to quieter, less commercial neighborhoods. As a result, the homes were torn down or moved.

Around the turn of the century, the Whipple and Sipher store was acquired by the Cannon family who sold groceries for two generations. The Cannons left something behind as well — several display cases (like the ones pictured below) that sit forlornly on the floor of the attic, surrounded by seasonal decorations and boxes of wrapping paper.

Ida Cannon stands at the counter.

Ida Cannon was the daughter of the family and an iconic figure in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. Senior citizens who grew up in Medina remember her presiding behind the counter like a crusty deity, wrapping purchases in old-fashioned brown paper and tying them neatly with string.

Cannon’s grocery store also delivered.  Ida owned a 1930’s-era station wagon with wood-paneled doors dubbed the “Cannonball” by irreverent delivery boys who, (unbeknownst to Ida), raced it up and down the village streets.

Those were the days when — if a family was not at home — the delivery boy walked into the kitchen and left the groceries on the table, taking care to put the perishables into the ice-box.  (Doors were never locked and “refrigerator” was still an unknown term.)

Today the shop — founded in 1984 and owned by Pam Miller since 1989 — is filled with original art by noted Medina artist Cindy Allman, cards and stationary, jewelry, pillows and throws, Byers Choice Christmas carolers, and framed inspirational quotations. However, like Whipple and Sipher, Pam Miller also  sells “crockery” — that is, hand-made platters and vases by local artists Elaine Lamb and Bonnie Gordon. And, like Ida Cannon, she sells groceries too — the kind that cater to more modern tastes, like gourmet jellies and chipotle dip mixes.

So, to paraphrase a worldly French quotation, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Victorian elegance

South Court Street in days of yore. Note Whipple and Sipher sign on far right.

The Medina Farmers’ Market began a few years ago with just a few tents huddled in the southwest corner of the square and offered a very limited selection –  tomatoes and perhaps some home-made baked goods — one Saturday a month.  Today, the first day of the season,  all the paths crisscrossing the park are lined with tents and the crowds are out in force.

And why is the community here is such large numbers?  For all the usually cited reasons, of course: Because people are increasingly drawn to healthier eating, because organically grown food tastes better, and because locally grown produce does not have to travel very far to get to the dinner table and the difference in mileage saves fossil fuels.

It is also the way people have shopped for thousands of years — in the agoras of ancient Greece, the souks of the Middle East and the village squares of Medieval Europe. It is still the way people shop in villages and town squares throughout the world.

The small family farms are well represented here and some of their names reveal their philosophies — Earth Song Discovery Farm (Holistic living in harmony with the earth) and  Soleil Farm (biological, poison free) And then, there are the plain, old-fashioned names like Muddy Fork Farm and Richardson’s Farm (six generations)who continue to grow things  the plain, old-fashioned way.

It is, of course, too soon in the season for any great profusion of produce to be available –  except for some tender looking green onions and parsley, and the strawberries. But it is flower season and the blooms are everywhere — huge, gorgeous and cheap.

However, produce isn’t the only reason to come. There is a very extensive variety of products available, from the useful to the quirky –  freshly baked, whole grain breads, local cheeses,  humanely raised beef, trail mix, brooms and hand-made handbags.  The bakers, jelly-makers and confectioners cheerfully offer samples and take orders.  The pies look luscious and, if you’re feeling especially community-minded, you can purchase large, white chocolate letters that spell Medina.

For the adored, four-legged family member — and there are plenty of those straining at their leashes –  the Barkin’ Biscuit Gourmet Bakery makes elegant-looking dog biscuits called “Bone-jour”.

Shopping. Sampling. People-watching. Or all of the above. Not a bad way to spend a summer morning.

Beautiful bounty of the Mustard Seed

The Mustard Seed Market and Cafe,  3885 West Market Street in Akron, (20 minutes from Medina) is the largest retailer of natural and organic products in Northeast Ohio.  Founded in 1981 by Margaret and Phillip Nabors,  the market specializes in providing high quality natural and organic food, as well as education and information on food issues and the environment.

The founders were pioneers in their commitment to strict ingredient standards — no artificial colors, flavorings or harmful chemical preservatives, no saccharin or aspartame, no irradiated foods.  Their cows don’t do drugs, which means that they are  “au naturel” and have never injected with growth hormones or indiscriminate antibiotics. Their chickens are also drug free.

The produce that fills the overflowing bins is locally grown, when possible, and certified organic. The Mustard Seed also offers local small farm dairy products, certified organic coffees and organic wines and beer.

Artisan breads are baked daily, and one aisle of the store features endless bins of bulk beans, grains, nuts, dried fruits and trail mixes. Wheat free and gluten free items are also available.

Over the years, Margaret and  Phillip Nabors — who have been joined in the business by their daughter and son — have added substantially to their offerings.  They now feature a very popular cafe, a deli, a cooking school ( which offers topics from wine appreciation to new cooking techniques) and an endless array of lectures, workshops, demonstrations and book signings.  A nutritional support aisle offers a large selection of vitamins, minerals and supplements, books, magazines and homeopathic formulas. They also sell cruelty-free cosmetics.

The Mustard Seed has a catering service — power breakfasts, working lunches, wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs — they do them all.  They also have banquet rooms upstairs.

And, in 1999, Margaret and Phillip Nabors opened a second Mustard Seed in Solon, an eastern suburb  of Cleveland.

The Cafe of the Akron Mustard Seed is,  not surprisingly, a very good place to sample the healthful bounty of Mustard Seed foods.  Vegan, vegetarian, carnivore — whatever your persuasion, there will be something to tempt you.

Here are two of their offerings:

Mediterranean Pizza with hummus, feta cheese, Kalmata olives and roasted tomatoes.For the vegan: Two Bean and Corn Salad with Tofu.

The Sunday Brunch Buffet at the Mustard Seed Cafe is very popular and offers live entertainment.  Hours are: 10:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

During the week, the Cafe serves lunch and dinner. Hours are: Mon-Thurs. 11 A.M. – 8 P.M., Fri & Sat: 11:A.M. – 9. P.M. There is  also live entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings — jazz, bluegrass, Celtic, etc..

Market & Cafe (330) 666-7333 (SEED)

Toll Free: (888) 476-2379 (GROCERY)

Fax: (330) 666-4892

Solon Location: Upper Solon Shopping Center, 6025 Kruse Drive, Solon, Ohio 44139

Market: (440) 519-3663 (FOOD)

Toll Free: (877) 496-3663 (FOOD)

Fax: (440) 519 -0623

Food Service Fax (440) 519-1591

UPCOMING EVENTS;:

June 16, 10:00 AM.-1:00 P.M.   Low cost cholesterol screenings.

June 16, 4:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M.     Larenim make-up consultations (mineral makeovers).

June 20,   Fathers’ Day Brunch with classical guitarist Pete Cavano. Adults, $21.99 & children $10.99.

June 26, 9:30 A.M -11:00 A.M.    Book signing for local chef, Bev Shaffer’s new book,  “Cakes to die for!”.

A few steps from Medina’a Public Square is a popular, Victorian-themed restaurant — Miss Molly’s Tea Room and Gift Shop.  It is pretty, feminine and very, very floral. Roses predominate — they are found on all the teapots and teacups, they spill out of vases and adorn the wallpaper. There are also lace table cloths , heart-shaped sandwiches and Christmas lights all year long.

Miss Molly’s is a very successful restaurant — if you don’t have a reservation for lunch, you may have to wait in the hall and twiddle your thumbs for a long, long time. And it consistently gathers accolades from the local media. (“Best of the Best” from the Medina County Gazette and  Fox 8’s Hot Spot in the Akron/Canton area.)

Here’s what you see here on an average weekday lunch hour.  At a nearby table sit four generations of women: a young woman with her infant daughter, her mother and her grandmother.  At another table, a group of eight animated middle-aged women are gathering, bearing gifts.  It’s clearly someone’s birthday or special occasion.

A few moments later two mothers walk by with four- year old daughters in tow.  The little girls are dressed in ruffly frocks and patent leather shoes — perfect attire for their first Victorian tea.  They will probably be served the “Little Miss Molly” — double-decker peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches and pink lemonade.

The food is also very feminine : salads, puff pastries, scones with Devonshire cream and preserves served on pretty plates.  Selection of teas is extensive and everyone gets an individual china teapot.

Here are some Miss Molly’s classics:

Heart-shaped puff pastry with the signature strawberry pretzel salad.

Chicken, tuna and pimento cheese served with love.

The experience doesn’t end there.  The check is paid at the gift shop which is filled with its own temptations.  Buy your very own rose-strewn teapot and some exotic teas to go with it — or original oil paintings, handmade jewelry, books, note cards. The selection is extensive.

Miss Molly’s is a popular place for bridal and baby showers and birthday parties.  Since they are open on Friday evenings, they can also accommodate rehearsal dinners.

The restaurant is  located on 140 W. Washington Street, one block west of Public Square in the former Medina Telephone Exchange building.

Hours are 11:00 – 3:00 Monday-Saturday, 12:00 -4:00 on Sunday and 5:00-8:00 P.M. on Friday.  For more information, go to www.missmollys.net.

First — the cooking class.  Sandy Baugh, a retired middle-school teacher with a warm, animated manner, runs her classes in the small cafe in the back of the store.  She doesn’t have a stove yet — the Root Company has  acquired one for her and it will arrive soon.

However, she makes extensive use of crock pots and a counter top pizza oven and has produced seven offerings.

This afternoon, in keeping with the Lenten season, the fare is meatless. Sandy begins with a Greek Rice Salad filled with anchovies and capers accompanied by a zucchini red pepper sesame cheese bread.  The key ingredients in both dishes come from bottled sauces from Stonewall Kitchen of Maine and are sold by Root — Stonewall Kitchen Classic Greek Dressing and their Roasted Red Pepper Sesame Sauce. Both offerings are very good, especially the Greek Salad.

She then moves on to two crock pots, one filled with a vegetarian chili and the other with a lentil soup.  Once again, the Stonewall sauces — Maple Chipotle Grill Sauce and Traditional Marinara Sauce are key.

While a pizza is baking in the little pizza oven on the counter, Sandy, keeps up a running commentary and offers two pasta salads — sun dried tomato pesto pasta — which several people in the class like very much, and a Mediterranean pasta made with an asparagus soup mix (Wind & Willow Red Pepper Asparagus Soup Mix) which is a bit bland.

The pizza, a Boboli crust with a Stone Kitchen Marinara Sauce covered with sauteed mushrooms and eggplant — very reminiscent of  that Italian restaurant staple, Eggplant Parmesan –  is the last item.

The class ends with a handful of recipes, a 25% coupon for all kitchen products, and an invitation to browse the extensive selection of sauces and mixes from a variety of manufacturers that Root carries.

And then, on to the rest of the store and the 20% off on candles.  Not a bad way to spend the day.

To contact Sandy for private classes:  call (330) 723-4359

For class schedule:  go to www.rootcandles.com

Recipes for all the dishes mentioned are available at www.stonewallkitchen.com .

Endless choices from Stonewall Kitchen

One of the finest restaurants in Northeast Ohio is located in a most unlikely setting  — inside a former Red Barn Restaurant  surrounded by insurance offices, a funeral parlor and a spa on North Court Street.

But chef and owner, John Kolar, has wrought some magic here. One enters his austerely elegant cocoon with its terra cotta walls hung with modern art, and dim, romantic  lighting — and it feels like New York , or maybe Ibiza. But it is the food that people drive long distances to savor — the  “contemporary cuisine with worldly influences”.

Kolar is a worldly individual himself.  A graduate of the famed Culinary Institute of America, he trained with New York City uber-chef Jean George Vongerichten, then worked for such highly rated area restaurants as Fire on the east side of Cleveland and the Three Birds in Lakewood.

Being a Hinckley native, however, Kolar eventually returned home to Medina County to practice his craft — or perhaps art might be a more appropriate term.  (For a look at the menu, go to www.thymetherestaurant.com.)

On Thursday, a group of women gathered at Thyme at lunchtime to bid farewell to a book club member who is moving back to Michigan. Here are some of the wonderful things they ate.Beth and Marilyn thoroughly enjoyed the salmon wrap. It is not just the food that is exceptional here — so is the presentation.

The lobster quesadilla was sinfully rich, but Gloria decided, “Why not? It’s a special occasion.  After all, how many times does Marge move to Michigan?”

Virginia loved the Brie and Portabello Mushroom Pizza, but had to take half of it home.

Thyme the Restaurant: 716 North Court Street, Medina, Ohio, (330) 764-4114.

Brian serves breakfast

When you sit at one of the tables  in the front alcove of Brian Hilberg’s restaurant, Marie’s Cafe, you are surrounded by two walls of murals representing the east and west sides of Medina’s 1870’s- era Square.  Gaze out the front window and you see the real thing.

This winter morning with snowflakes drifting out of a steel gray sky onto the Square filled with ice sculptures that suddenly have the forlorn look of abandoned toys, and with gas logs glowing in the fireplace — Brian’s corned beef hash made with carmelized onions, roasted red peppers and shredded potatoes sauteed in garlic butter and topped with two poached eggs comes off as the ultimate comfort food.

It is a casual, cozy place which will celebrate its fifth anniversary on March 19th. At lunch time it is likely to be filled with ladies’ book groups and professionals from law offices and businesses around the square.  The most popular item this frigid winter continues to be the Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich — Swiss Cheese, avocado, tomato and red onion with hot sauce on 9-grain bread.

Brian, a self-taught cook, is creating a complete new menu for the cafe’s fifth anniversary.  “It will include ethnic items, including Lebanese dishes.  And for the first time, we’ll offer appetizers and entrees,” he says.

( Hopefully, the chicken dumpling soup made from a recipe perfected by his wife, Mary’s Hungarian grandmother — a perennial favorite — will remain.)

Marie’s Cafe is open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch, 7:30 AM – 3:00 PM. For a glimpse of the menu, go to www.mariescafe.net.

Aladdin's Eatery, 782 W. Market St., Akron

Vegetarians and self-professed health nuts, take heed.  Aladdin’s Eatery, located in Highland Square, Akron’s funky, colorful neighborhood west of downtown, is not to be missed.

The food, Middle-Eastern and otherwise,  is healthy and delicious. Start with a fruit smoothie  made with non-fat yogurt — or perhaps some hummus and pita bread. Choose from a  wide variety of tasty salads.  Then move on to grilled tuna or turkey wraps with lots of leafy lettuce and vegetables. End with the outstandingly good cheese cake or baklava.

Then take a stroll around Highland Square which offers coffee shops, used bookstores, antique shops and any number of interesting people.

See more pictures of Aladdins’ Eatery Akron, click here.

Cool Beans, located in an 1871 building on the northwest corner of Public Square, offers an extensive menu of coffees, teas and pastries, as well as lunches.  They are noted for serving especially good soups, but the sandwiches and salads excel as well.  All are made daily in the state of the art kitchen visible behind the glass partition – where cooking classes are periodically conducted.

Samuel Barnard built the handsome brick building after the 1870 fire devastated most of Medina’s business district.  The first building to occupy this site was a two-story log cabin constructed in 1818.  The first floor served as a tavern and community center and the local court was held on the second floor.

Alas, the Medina Farmers Market on the square is finished for 2009, but you still have three more weeks to visit the Indoor Farmers Market at Medina Contractor Connection, 941 N. Court St. The market runs 9am-1pm for three Saturdays in November (7, 14, 21) with local farmers, bakers, and craftspeople.