The Gathering

I have had many lunches, dinners, and drinks at The Gathering over the past 16 years or so, and they have been through a lot in that time: a change of ownership, the flood in 2007, and the ever-changing economy of the last few years. While they are a familiar Findlay haunt, it had been a while since I last visited them.

Originally we had planned on heading over to the 13th Annual CPS Chili Cookoff at the Kohler Center. However, we had family come in from out of town, so we decided on a sit-down restaurant instead. It was unfortunate that we missed the Chili Cookoff, but the fact that most of Findlay was there -and not eating out- made it easy for us to get seated quickly. In fact, we pretty much had the entire restaurant to ourselves!



The atmosphere at the Gathering hasn't changed much over time; despite having to pretty much gut and remodel the entire restaurant after sustaining massive flood damage, the layout and decor remains casual and classy at the same time. One of the owners, Cathy Drummond, was behind the bar and as friendly as ever, and co-owner Deb Erford was in and out of the kitchen over the course of the night. Seated right next to the salad bar, it didn't take very long at all to get our drinks and place our order with the smiling, attentive waitress.

For starters, we ordered Potato Skins and Fried Tempura Vegetables. Loaded with real cheddar cheese and crispy bacon, the hefty potato skins were as delicious as any I've had in recent memory and well worth the $4.95 menu price. The only thing that might have made them better would have been the addition of some green onions. I know that many restaurants stopped using them a few years back when there was an E. Coli scare, but the danger is long past. The fried veggies were fairly standard quality; hand-dipped in batter, the flavor wasn't anything out-of-the-ordinary but the serving was gigantic! The four-item platter only runs $6.95, and five of us still couldn't finish both appetizers. One pleasant discovery, though-one of the fried veggies was sweet potatoes...I'd never had batter-dipped sweet potatoes before, but they are surprisingly delicious and I'll probably end up dreaming of those until my next trip to The Gathering.

I mentioned earlier that we were seated next to the salad bar; a trip to the salad bar is included with every entree as well as one other side dish. Other than the fact that it was well-stocked and had a fairly average selection of items, what else can I say? It's a salad bar. Unless you come across one that is dirty, understocked, or only has two or three items, if you've seen one you've seen them all. I will mention that the soup was Broccoli Cheese, so I wasn't too keen and skipped it. The timing of the kitchen was fairly good, because we were all finishing up our salads as the main course arrived.

For my main dish, I ordered The Gathering's Famous Ribs. Some people say that Tony's has the best ribs in town, others like Waldo Pepper's ribs, and an alarming majority of people I know think it is a great idea to drive over to New Reigle and eat the greasy, disgusting ribs they serve there....but that's a whole other post. My point is, I like The Gathering's ribs best out of Findlay's available choices. It had been a while since I had them, but they were just as I remember-melting off the bone with a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce. I ordered the "Piglet Portion," which is a half-slab of baby-back ribs for $13.95. They also offer a smaller, "Lunch Portion," as well as the "Oinker" (a full slab) and the "Squealer" (a slab and a half). But, if you just want to try them out, they also have a "Sampler" size that is the same as a Lunch Portion-just without any side dishes.

Speaking of side dishes, I once again ordered the Steamed Vegetables. I know-I am depriving all of you a proper review of their delicious Sweet Potato Fries, but I already had enough carbs and fat with the appetizers to last me the rest of the week. So, I'll keep it straightforward and to the point; the veggies were hot, crisp, and they didn't disappoint me a bit.

In all, the meal was just as I had hoped for. While they may be forgotten sometimes due to their location on East Main Cross Street, The Gathering remains an excellent choice for any meal. I, for one, can't wait to go back for lunch and see if their huge Guacamole Burger is as awesome as I remember.

I will reiterate, however, that this dining experience was not a proper judge of how they hold up under pressure; with the dining room empty because of the Chili Cookoff, we darn well better have recieved fast and accurate service. If anyone has any comments on their dining experiences, please leave them!

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The Gathering is located at 114 E Main Cross St, downtown, next to the City Laundry and across from the Chamber of Commerce. Their phone number is 419-422-5930, and you can take a look at their full menu on AllMenus.com.