Ask Me to Visit and I WILL: Canton, Ohio Edition (Day 1)

I don’t know if you know this about me, but one of my favorite things to do is visit someone in their own town and show them things they had no idea existed. This particular Jacki quality has led me to:

The liminal spaces beneath 30 Rock for the best sour fruity candy on the planet
Sharing the best BBQ dinner of my life with a cab driver in Oklahoma
A free museum in the middle of NYC with art that is normally relegated to rich people’s homes
Walking through a tiny grocery store museum with an Uber driver
Bonding over my favorite underrated movie with a local artist

That last one just happened earlier today. In Canton, Ohio. Why Canton, Ohio? Well, because they asked me. A few weeks ago, I got an email telling me they liked the way I wrote about small towns for Only In Your State, and then went on to compliment me more (which, of course, made me feel uncomfortable) by saying they liked the chaos on this blog over here on ValleyOfOh.com. She thought I’d love the town of Canton and wondered if I was free for them to host me soon. I picked this week, and here we are.

There was a bit of an issue, because I don’t really drive nowadays, and Canton is a weird distance from Detroit to take a plane. So, Canton did some research and sent a car for me! My driver was Mark, the car was black, and they both showed up at 2pm this afternoon to bring me to Canton, Ohio.

The drive was chill. I listened to the two Max Richter albums that I’ll be seeing him conduct next month in Detroit.

And then I was at a lovely hotel in Canton, where I was greeted with a warm cookie, a box of chocolates, and a schedule (with accompanying brochures!) I unpacked my (well-organized, thanks to Mickey) bags, changed out of my traveling clothes, and made my way to stop one:

Bender’s Tavern. It’s that brick building on the corner.

As I turned the corner to enter the restaurant, I heard a voice from across the street, “Hey, girl, I like your outfit!” I thanked them and took that as a sign for the tone of the rest of this trip. If tonight was any indication, I was 100% correct.

I did look cute, too, but I forgot to take pics of myself. So I will just describe it:

Pink dress with puffy sleeves
Purple tights
Multicolored stripey socks (ofc)
Walkin’ shoes from the Shoe Guy

So, Bender’s Tavern. It’s been a part of Canton for 125 years, and it’s just lovely. I’m sure I’ll wax poetic about it in a bigger way later, so I’ll just tell you what I had and show pics, but also tell you what my favorite part was, which really surprised me.

Here is what I ate:

Bender’s Original Spring Tonic
Maine Mussels
Fresh North Pacific Morel Mushroom Special
Turtle Soup
Jerry’s Famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Sundae
- Then I got to meet Jerry!

Here are the pics:

Literally everything was SO GOOD. I unintentionally ordered two appetizers instead of an appetizer and a meal, but that is perfectly fine with me. AND, I ordered the cup of Turtle Soup as an afterthought because I didn’t want to regret not trying it. I’m so glad I threw this on at the end; it was my favorite bite of the night. The flavor was incredible… peppery and deep, and I will be thinking about it a long time.

Then, my next and final stop for the night was The Hub Art Factory. It was a short walk from the restaurant, which I LOVED, because ya girl adores a walkable city. On the walk, I saw some lovely architecture and some graffiti (woohoo!).

When I saw that mural in the final pic, I said out loud (to no one), “Amy Winehouse!” and I knew I would like this place.

Then I walked in… and it was empty, and I immediately considered turning around and walking back to the hotel. Instead, I spied a set of stairs and heard a conversation at the top of them, and so I climbed them.

At the top, I didn’t find a traditional gallery space, but a bunch of artists huddled around tables, talking, laughing, and most importantly… arting. I spied a fella who looked in charge and introduced myself. Then I walked among the working artists’ rooms and took some random pics of art.

Then I spied a space at a table and sat down, where I was immediately asked if I was an artist. I instead said, “I’m a writer,” and then also talked about my lollipops and my ceramics class. So I guess I am an artist, but still feel embarrassed to say it for some reason. I’ll have to talk to my brain about this at a later date.

Next to me, an artist was working on a fiber art head of Bob Belcher. It was in the early stages, all shades of orange and black around a bald spot. Across from me, another artist was working on a piece that was a mashup of Planet of the Apes and Bob’s Big Boy.

It was a great place to be. Then, I spied this piece of art and gasped.

Not the squirrel. Although, the squirrel got me too. Look to the right and to the left of the squirrel, and you will see Daniel Radcliffe and the most underrated actor on the planet, Paul Dano, from the masterpiece of a movie, Swiss Army Man.

Before I knew it, these words were spilling out of my mouth, “Is that Swiss Army Man?!?!?!” The artist to the left of me, creating the Bob Belcher head, exclaimed, “Yes, it’s my favorite movie!!!” Thus began 30 minutes of gushing about every aspect of this incredible film, including the astounding score. At the end of the night, we decided it needed to be a musical on Broadway, and we should probably produce it together.

We also discussed Heated Rivalry and teeth for some reason.

Then I walked back to my hotel, where I saw some nice sights, including so many three-ring binders in the windows of a police station.