Dine on ooey gooey gourmet grilled cheeses, Lawson’s chip dip at The Lockview | Local Flavor

Here it is, the moment you find out what the Jenke family’s favorite local watering hole is.

Amy and Kerry Jenke own 35 Brix , the subject of my last installment in our Local Flavor series . It’s a habit of mine to ask restaurant owners and chefs about their favorite place to eat and what they order − it’s essentially a version of “who delivers the mailman’s mail?” But I get to eat the mail, and it usually tastes amazing.

The Jenkes' 35 Brix was highly recommended to me by Nathan DeCheco, owner of DeCheco’s Pizza , who is head over heels for the restaurant's white French dressing. So, naturally, I popped the question to the Jenkes, who promptly said they’ve been eating at Lockview multiple times a week for the last five years because their daughter is obsessed with their panko chicken sandwich.

Lockview favorites

I get it. I’d eat this multiple times a week too if I had the chance. What a freaking sandwich.

The hand-breaded chicken breast that creates the bulk of the sandwich is pounded super-model thin before being breaded in panko and fried until golden. The crispy yet tender chicken breast coupled with creamy house-made aioli and roughage make for a balanced blend of both flavors and textures.

Even the Tuscan herb bread, sourced from Breads of Fairlawn , brings an additional layer of flavor. It’s also served with fries, sweet potato in my case, that are cut and blanched every morning. All for only $14.

In case it’s not clear yet, the masterminds behind Lockview — owner Danny Basone and his siblings, general manager Joanne Richards and kitchen manager Bob Basone — place quite an emphasis on freshly made food.

They also try to offer local favorites, a shining example of which is the large basket of Gold'n Krisp Chips and 8-ounce container of Lawson's French Onion chip dip on its menu.

Former Beacon Journal consumer columnist Betty Lin-Fisher , who is now a national consumer reporter for USA TODAY , was my lunch partner for this visit. Lockview is known for its ooey gooey gourmet grilled cheeses, so it was imperative I find a cheese lover to represent that portion of their menu.

Betty has been coming to Lockview for years and usually gets the No. 6, which is comprised of cheddar cheese, grilled apples and applewood smoked bacon on country butter top bread. The No. 6 and the No. 15, made with pulled pork and Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, are the restaurant’s top sellers.

She ventured out of her comfort zone this time around though, and she ordered a sandwich with mozzarella cheese, butter-poached lobster, arugula and lemon-pepper aioli ($13).

Usually, grilled cheeses come with Goldfish crackers as their default side, but Betty preferred sweet potato fries this time around.

“All of them seemed really affordable, so you get lobster for $1 or $2 more,” Betty said. “It’s more of a lobster salad. I thought it was very filling. It was good.”

Diamond Deli, Chameleon Café or Lockview?

So, I found another great sandwich downtown. Between Lockview, Diamond Deli and Chameleon Café , I’m going to need a Magic 8 Ball to decide where to dine each week.

Maybe Diamond Deli for a sweet pre-nap treat? Their Sweet Baby Elaine, a toasted peanut butter and jelly and bacon sandwich on wheat, is perfect for a food coma. Chameleon Café’s cilantro lime chicken panini, on the other hand, is perfect for a quick bite on the go. And then there's Lockview, which provides heavier sandwiches for those long days stuck at the office.

Lockview’s history

The Lockview has a long history in downtown Akron. But in the early 1930s it was Stone's Grill, then became Mr. Bilbo’s (yes, as in Bilbo Baggins of J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel "The Hobbit,”) in the early '80s, and eventually landed in the hands of its current owner Danny Basone in 2001. Upon acquisition, Basone revamped the space into a bar and music venue named the Lime Spider (named after an obscure '80s rock band).

During its time as a music club, they would cook grilled cheeses on stage between acts and use a slide to deliver them to patrons. A friend of the Basone family named Ricky Rhoads, who was a chef, came up with an idea.

In 2007, Basone turned the Lime Spider into the Lockview. At the time, he said attendance at shows was falling and small national bands were going directly to Cleveland to play. So, they pivoted to a concept they were already familiar with – grilled cheese.

It’s nice, though, that after all that change, there are still remnants of the building’s history displayed on its walls in the form of a Hobbit painting and a historical photo.

I don’t think it would hurt to have a couple Lord-of-the-Rings-turned-Lockview quotes surrounding Bilbo, Gandalf and company. My offering: "One sandwich to rule them all, one teenager to find them, one grilled cheese to bring them all, and in one’s hanger bind them; In the Land of Lockview where the chip dips lie."

Basone is still adding to the little culinary strip that Lockview, Peanut Shoppe and Chill Artisan Ice Cream make up with his newest restaurant concept. In late November, he transformed the space next to Lockview — which formerly housed Funny Noodle and El Gato Taqueria — into an ode to spuds called the United States Potato Service . Its menu features a variety of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, hand-cut fries and poutine.

Got a restaurant recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans. And follow her food adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.

Details

Place: The Lockview

Address: 207 S. Main St., Akron

Phone: 330-252-5128

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday

Website: thelockview.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dine on ooey gooey gourmet grilled cheeses, Lawson’s chip dip at The Lockview | Local Flavor