Swensons in Stow Offers a Better Alternative to Fast Food

Growing up west of Cleveland, I grew up hearing of the legend of Swensons Drive-In. Because I was a young lad with no means of transportation (other than my parents), I never got to experience this Akron staple until I moved down to the area three years ago. While I feel Swensons is better on a warm summer night, the food has brought me back through subzero temperatures. Luckily, the temperatures were at least above freezing for this review.

My girlfriend and I made the drive to  on a Saturday around 7 p.m. (a running timeframe for this column, it seems). There were maybe 10 or 12 cars dotting the parking lot/"dining room," so I knew the wait for their famous Galley Boy wouldn’t be too long.

Because the weather wasn’t ideal, the carhop screwed the tray into the inner door panel, saving us from the cold weather outside. The mountain of food presented to us included two Galley Boys in baskets ($5.05 each; fries and coleslaw in mine, fries and applesauce for my girlfriend), Potato Teezers ($2.05; potato, cheese and jalapeño deep fried to perfection), Potato Puffs ($1.75; tater tots, essentially) and a regular chocolate malt ($3.05).

The Galley Boy was perfect. The double cheeseburger with two special sauces (homemade barbecue sauce and tartar sauce) hit the spot I was craving for awhile. The sauce combination might seem off-putting at first, but it’s surprising how perfectly in unison they work with everything else.

The Potato Teezers were also good, but I would have liked to have more spice from the jalapeños inside. Those afraid of spicy food should not hesitate to try these, as there is no heat — other than the temperature. The Potato Puffs were as good as tater tots can really be. Ordering these in addition to fries and Teezers might have been a mistake, as I felt overloaded by starch at the end of the meal. The chocolate malt capped off the meal perfectly, giving my pallet a much-needed sweet treat to counteract the sodium of everything else.

For a $12 meal I could not have been happier. Forget typical fast food, Swensons is the true king of burgers.