{"id":82284,"date":"2026-11-08T21:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T21:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/82284\/"},"modified":"2026-11-08T21:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T21:01:51","slug":"5-ohio-comfort-food-restaurants-worth-the-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/82284\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ohio Comfort Food Restaurants Worth the Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anietra Hamper<\/p>\n

Posted On: Jan 7, 2015<\/p>\n

When I walk into the Pioneer Restaurant\u00a0in Utica, Ohio I feel like I am visiting an old friend \u2013only, I have never been here before. Perhaps it is because the atmosphere is filled with regulars who find comfort among the food and the company.<\/p>\n

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Open-face roast beef sandwich at Pioneer Restaurant, Utica – photo: Anietra Hamper<\/p>\n

A steady stream of people come here for coffee and breakfast sausage in the mornings, or stop in for meatloaf on Thursdays and homemade seasonal pies at other times of the week.<\/p>\n

I took a day-trip to satisfy my hunger for comfort food, which seems like the perfect way warm up a cold winter day.<\/p>\n

The menu overflows with options much the way that my open-faced roast beef sandwich overflows on my plate. Tucked between my two freshly carved roast beef sandwich halves is a pile of homemade mashed potatoes covered in rich beef gravy.<\/p>\n

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Pioneer Restaurant, Utica, Ohio – photo: Anietra Hamper<\/p>\n

Instantly, I forget about the cold Ohio winter and focus on warm food, a homey d\u00e9cor and a friendly conversation with my waitress Brandy who has worked there for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n

Owner Jenny Cooper, who is busy making today\u2019s cherry pie in the kitchen, even steps out to say hello to customers. By the time you leave the Pioneer Restaurant, open since 1972, you can\u2019t help but be on a first-name basis with the staff.<\/p>\n

The true magic of comfort food goes beyond taste buds. It\u2019s the dose of nostalgia, the invite of friendship and the consistency of delicious, indulgent food that makes us fall in love with the small restaurants that serve it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t mess with the meatloaf,\u201d Jenny Cooper says jokingly about the Pioneer Restaurant recipes that have remained the same for decades. \u201cWhen you have a restaurant that serves comfort food, you can\u2019t change the food. It must be consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There are many great Ohio comfort food restaurants that are worth the drive just to indulge. Here are some others:<\/p>\n

Maid-Rite – Greenville. Serving up mouth-watering sandwiches and milkshakes since 1934, Maid-Rite\u00a0is a community staple. The overflowing loose meat sandwiches are legendary. Maid-Rite is also known for its fresh egg and chicken salads. Top off the meal with a creamy shake and make this a regular stop for your comfort food cravings.<\/p>\n

Nancy\u2019s Home Cooking – Columbus. Little has changed since Nancy\u2019s Home Cooking opened in 1968. Regulars plan breakfast and lunch around daily specials that include home-style chicken and noodles, sausage gravy and hickory smoked pulled pork.<\/p>\n

Bill & Mary\u2019s diner \u2013 Canton.\u00a0If you\u2019ve got a thing for potato cakes, a drive to Bill and Mary\u2019s Diner in Canton is in your future. While their potato cakes have developed a solid reputation of their own, specialty omelettes like the Chili Stretch and Sloppy Joe sandwiches will not disappoint. You can even find side dishes like Kielbasa and Hash on the menu.<\/p>\n

The Plaza Inn \u2013 Mt. Victory. Family owned since 1959, The Plaza Inn\u00a0truly caters to its regulars, even providing an air strip on-site for those who fly here for breakfast or lunch. Breakfast specials that start at just $4.29 include dishes like a Country Scramble or fried mush and bacon. On the buffet menus you will find broasted chicken, carved roast beef, Alaskan fish and beef pot roast.<\/p>\n

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Anietra enjoying comfort food – photo: David Peters<\/p>\n

Hungry yet? What\u2019s even better than these small Ohio restaurants are the small prices they charge for their delicious food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I need to get back to my homemade apple pie a la mode, but be sure to check out Part 2 of my series next month for more great Ohio comfort food restaurants that are worth the drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Anietra Hamper Posted On: Jan 7, 2015 When I walk into the Pioneer Restaurant\u00a0in Utica, Ohio I feel like I am visiting an old friend \u2013only, I have never been here before. Perhaps it is because the atmosphere is filled with regulars who find comfort among the food and the company. Open-face roast beef<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2833,2831,2829,2832,2830],"class_list":["post-82284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ohio","tag-ohio","tag-ohio-dining","tag-ohio-food","tag-ohio-grocery-stores","tag-ohio-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117582845976924087","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}