Saadey’s bets on great burgers across the board

By Anthony M. Fuda

BurgerGuyz@hotmail.com

Rounding the turn and taking a commanding lead down the stretch, the No Brainer Burger is charging hard. The Interstate Burger sees an opening and makes its move, and at the wire ... we all win.

Located where I-80 and SR-46 meet, inside the Quality Inn, Saadey’s Place takes its theme from the live horse racing down the road. What really gives Saadey’s its charm are the paintings. The food is phenomenal, but the paintings bring that something different to the restaurant. Owner Joe Saadey said his mom, Jean, was a terrific painter, so he bought her some canvases and asked her to paint some horses coming down the stretch. And she said (and Joe stood up and did an impression of his mother, with fake cigarette in hand), “I don’t paint horses.” Needless to say, a couple of weeks later, Jean called Joe and said, “Get these paintings out of here.”

And now the walls of Saadey’s Place are adorned with the stunning paintings that capture the essence and excitement of horse racing.

The paintings are the first thing you notice as you walk in the restaurant. We picked a nice table to enjoy our meal, and Joe sat down and joined us, telling us stories about Saadey’s Place. He is definitely a character, which made for one of the best, and fun, Burger Nights we’ve had. We started talking about the burgers, and Joe said we first have to try their award-winning chili and their fish sandwich. While deciding on our burgers, we enjoyed the pre-meal – and both items were delicious– and the chili is deserving of every award it has won.

We looked over the menu and were trying to choose between the five selections:

No Brainer Burger, 1/2 pound burger topped with bacon, fried egg, hot peppers and cheddar cheese)

Interstate Burger, 1/2 pound burger topped with cheese, choice of cheddar, Swiss, Monetary jack, or -government.

Trackside Burger, 1/2 pound burger topped with jalape ±os, mushrooms and Monterey jack cheese.

Backstretch Burger, 1/2 pound burger with crumbled bleu cheese and fried onions.

The B.B. Burger, grilled Butterball turkey burger topped with mushrooms and Swiss cheese.

Our waitress, Autumn Kelly, made sure we had everything we needed for a great burger experience. She brought out the burgers and we were ready to get down to business. But first, Joe said we had to try all the burgers – even the B.B. (turkey) Burger, and within moments, we had all five burgers before us. The burgers are served on a toasted bun with fresh lettuce, tomato and pickles, and sided with a hefty portion of tasty, crispy fries.

We cut the burgers in half, and stared them down as we decided which ones we each wanted.

I started with the Trackside Burger and first noted the perfectly seasoned beef. The burger was seared expertly and had an all-around great flavor. The jalape ±os added a little bite without overpowering the burger. Next I tried – dare I say it – the B.B. Burger, and it was great. OK, I like turkey burgers and this, also, was seasoned perfectly. Sometimes turkey burgers get dried out and not even all the hot sauce in Youngstown can bring it back to flavor life. At Saadey’s, you don’t need any additional sauces because this turkey burger was juicy and tasted great. I would recommend either of these burgers. And if you want a burger, but whoever you are going with wants a non-beef burger, you both will be satisfied with Saadey’s choices. I will definitely be going back for the burgers, the chili and when Lent rolls around again, I have a new fish sandwich to add to my food catalog.

Scott commented on the Backstretch Burger and knew he had something good as soon as he picked it up, “The first bite screamed four-and-a-half stars, and the burger was juicy, and very flavorful until the last bite. The meat had a nice seasoning to it, and the bleu cheese crumbles rounded out a great tasting burger.”

After sampling a majority of the burgers, Eric remarked, “There are so many wonderful things that can be said about the burgers at Saadey’s Place because they are just that good, which really is all that needs to be said. From bun to beef and everything in between, each bite left me wanting more. I’d tell you my favorite, but chances are I’d just change my mind shortly after. Each burger is served with some delicious fries that I was thrilled to find were seasoned with rosemary (a very underutilized spice in my opinion). Just be sure that when you go, you order a bowl of what I would consider the best chili I’ve ever had. Just don’t tell my mom that!”

JT enjoyed everything about this burger night. saying. “I wasn’t expecting a feast, but that’s just what we got! A big thank you to Saadey’s Place for the awesome hospitality! I think it’s great that Joe, who admittedly is not involved with the daily operations of the restaurant, gave all of the credit for the great success of Saadey’s Place to his staff. He’s definitely not shy about bragging about the great job they do, and I can’t say I blame him, because everything I tried was perfect! The chili and fish sandwich were tops! Both the best I can remember having in years. And an outstanding first burger of 2018! Nice job to Chuck and Chris on preparing all of the amazing food we tried, and a shout out to the expert dessert-maker Christine, the Oreo cheesecake was soooo yummy!”

Here’s a sure-fire winning tip for you. If you put your money on any of the burgers at Saadey’s to win, you are guaranteed to go home with a quenched appetite, and you can even parlay that bet into one of Saadey’s expert dessert-maker Christine’s magnificent desserts to get a true burger/dessert Daily Double.

Saadey’s also has Monday night burger night, and not just any burger night. Most burger nights give you a price deal, but also go from a half-pound burger to a quarter pound burger. Not Saadey’s. You get a full half pound burger, with lettuce, tomato, onions and French fries. All you have to do is purchase a drink to get the $5 special.

Be sure to check our blog for info on the 3rd annual Meat 16 Cheeseburger Tournament.

Keep reading the Valley food section each Wednesday for the best food the Valley has to offer.

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