Category Archives: In the News

From Canton Repository | Jan. 29, 2013 By Saimi Rote Bergmann | Photos By Scott Heckel Carl Falcone is heading to the… Read more »

Jerry Jacob is the owner of Bender’s Restaurant in Canton which is celebrating its 110th anniversary. By Diana Rossetti Posted… Read more »

Seafood connoisseurs do not have to travel to Boston or San Francisco to enjoy top-quality fish that’s been harvested at peak season and prepared by a skillful hand. They only have to get to Bender’s Restaurant & Tavern in downtown Canton.

The menu offers a steak or two, but mostly stays true to the maxim “Do what you do best.” The permanent menu and multiple special and seasonal menus offer an array of fish and shellfish you won’t find elsewhere in Stark County.

Come Feb. 5, Carl Falcone, the chef at Bender’s Tavern in Canton, will be in Indianapolis celebrating his win Tuesday night at the 2011 Taste of the NFL fundraiser for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

Jon Jacob, son of owner Jerry Jacob, said he and Falcone were “thrilled” with being named the Grand Champion of the event and were looking forward to being in the national spotlight during the 2012 Super Bowl’s national Taste of the NFL competition. On Tuesday night, they served sea scallops with a sun-dried tomato butter sauce and lobster bisque.

If you want to experience morel mushrooms but don’t want to head into the forest, find chefs who have already done foraging and are featuring the coveted fungus on their menus.

Bender’s Tavern in downtown Canton serves morels as a side dish.

“We just dust them with flour, add a little salt and pepper and pan sauté them in a little butter,” said Jon Jacob, general manager. “We don’t mess around with them. We let the mushroom do the work.”

When it comes to one coveted crustacean, bigger is not always better. “In the world of lobster, the older they get, the less flavor they have,” explains Jon Jacob, general manager of Bender’s Tavern in downtown Canton. That is why Bender’s lobster entree ($39.99) features two 4-oz. tails instead of one big one.

Lobster locale also plays a part in sweeter meat. “Cold water tails tend to have a little more flavor than warm water tails,” Jacob said. “Which is why we offer South African cold water tails.”

How many people can $18,000 feed? Eric Smer, program director of the Stark County Hunger Task Force, says that figure translates into 30,000 grocery bags — 126,000 pounds of sustenance — loaded with enough food to last three to five days.

So what’s the significance of $18,000? That is how much money has been raised for the Task Force during the last three guest sommeliers nights at Bender’s Tavern in Canton.

The votes have been tallied and the readers have spoken in About magazine’s first Readers’ Choice awards. We asked you to tell us about all the best Stark County has to offer. Some of your choices are surprising, but most have a solid foundation in Stark County culture. Located in the heart of downtown Canton since 1902, Benders Tavern is the choice for “Best place for a power lunch.”

Taking a cue from a fellow colleague, today I decided to eat at a Canton, OH institution, Bender’s. Bender’s has been open more than 100 years and bills itself as a place for fresh seafood, steaks, and chops. I looked at their menu on-line and saw that the lunch menu was much more affordable than the dinner menu.