14 • DINING OUT
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For family, friends or sports, Slatts Pub covers all bases By Michael Sawan Assistant Editor Let’s get the elephant out of the room: through rigorous journalistic training I was able to ignore the large “BROWNS COUNTRY” sign hanging across the bar. I instead appreciated Slatts Pub for the great American niche that it has been filling for six years now, offering a wide breadth of food, friendly staff and the comfort of three distinct sections. There is the restaurant’s sports bar area, with muted colors, dim lighting, big screen TVs and, of course, a bar. I imagine this is the area for comfort and encapsulation, that feeling of being self contained in your booth without distraction. Then there’s “the conservatory,” an open room with large windows and a skylight, great for more of a cafe/communal feel. For those craving a bit of fresh air, Slatts has that, too, in the form of an outdoor patio. One can even get some live entertainment there, since across the street on Friday nights is the Blue Ash “Friday Nights on the Square” series. As you might imagine, patio seating runs out quickly on those nights. This is nothing unusual, however, as even when I visited on a Friday afternoon at 1:30 I had trouble finding a place to park. I spoke with Cathy Daggitt, a server at Slatts, and she was all about the familiarity of the restaurant. She told me that most patrons were regulars, and that “we know them all.” Besides the variety of seating, she explained that “there were a couple of signature dishes [that] they come for,” including the Baked Alaskan Halibut and Slatts Signature Spicy Chicken Spring Rolls. Of the food, particularly the spring rolls, Daggitt explained that “it’s unique. I don’t know where else you’d get it around here.” And as to the halibut, “even people who don’t like fish like [it].” On top of it all is simple economics. “It’s well-priced for the quality,” Daggitt stated simply, pointing out that most basic of American traits: knowing a good deal and remembering it. I decided to go light during my visit to Slatts, trying only the Spicy Chicken Spring Rolls (and an unsweetened iced tea). What is it about this dish, I wondered, that has kept people coming back so often? A part of it must be the presentation, for these are like no other spring rolls you have ever seen. A chinese restaurant would bring you a crispy, flaky thing filled with greasy greens, while Slatts brings you a huge cannoli shell filled with cheese. It comes accompanied by a saucer of creole mustard sauce, and the entire dish is sprinkled with chopped green onions. The spring rolls are bigger than you would expect, too, more along the lines of
(Clockwise) The cozy sports bar section of Slatts Pub, complete with a widescreen TV; The cheesy, crunchy, saucy Spicy Chicken Spring Rolls, a Slatts classic; The Conservatory section of Slatts, with its open and bright cafe feel; The patio of Slatts. Friday Nights on the Square takes place right across the street; Cathy Daggitt, left, and Chelsea Donnellon, two employees of Slatts Pub.
an egg roll, or even a corn dog. They come sliced open diagonally, meaning that if the cheese were less viscous it would pour out freely. Before we go any further, let’s clarify something about what is actually a very deceptive cheese. It is actually two cheeses, cheddar and jack, though I could have sworn there were more. I tasted hunks of bleu, something mild like mozzarella, and maybe even some of the fancy cheeses, gorgonzola or goat. But never mind all of that, it really was just cheddar and jack, and a credit to the two of them for fooling me so wonderfully. The crust more than supports the cheese, adding a nice crispiness to the ever present gooeyness. As stated, the crust was something
along the lines of a cannoli shell, but a bit crunchier. The cheese had soaked into it slightly, too, adding a sort of chewy crunch that is incredibly pleasing. I imagine the only way to make the thing better would be to wrap it in a tortilla, but that’s for another day. I had at first focused so much on the cheese and crust that I forgot about the chicken. In fact, as I was eating I made a note of what I called “ghost meat,” a taste and texture that was like meat but lighter, ethereal, just a hint of what was possible. Only when I looked down at the spring roll did I see a large, half eaten piece of chicken. Needless to say I felt a little dumb. But the taste could not be argued with! It was a delicate com-
plement, a subtle way to allow the cheese to rule the dish while the chicken plays in the background, redirecting the cheese in a fun, unexpected way. Perhaps the chicken, after all, is where my initial cheese confusion came from. Despite the dish’s name it wasn’t terribly spicy. In a world of Indian food up to 10, the Spicy Chicken Spring Roll is something like a one or a two. It is quite mild, especially with all the cheese, so the spice-adverse need not be afraid. If the Browns were the first elephant in the room, the second was the creole mustard sauce. Daggitt put it wonderfully when I asked about the sauce, saying that “you could dip anything into that.” To
put in my own two cents, I wouldn’t be surprised if cotton candy tasted better with creole mustard sauce on it, it’s that terrific of a condiment. For the spring rolls it added a nice little spice, a slight, sweet tingle that seals the Slatts Signature Spicy Chicken Spring Rolls’ place as a calling card for the restaurant. With a dish like this one, plus many others, it’s no wonder that people keep coming back. Their hours are Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m. – 11 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m. – 9 p.m. Slatts Pub 4858 Cooper Road Blue Ash, OH 45242 513-791-2223