DC's

50 N State St
Painesville, OH 44077
(440) 357-1388

Bite: Worth the trip to Painesville.

by Beau Cadiyo

Aesthetically, DC’s is a dismal failure. Patrons sit at what appears to be old church café furniture. Thrift store paintings decorate the walls, with small little league awards distributed in a seeming random manner. There is poor lighting, an awkward front door, and, in the back, a large, unlit deli freezer with suspicious few old-looking cakes inside.

Luckily we were not put off by the appearance. DC’s serves breakfast all day, so Gary got a make-your-own omelet and Greg got a breakfast sandwich. Shelly went with biscuits and gravy, and I got a fried perch sandwich with a side of biscuits and gravy.

The long, long, long wait was well worth it. DC’s fried perch sandwich was rather unfulfilling. Two fried pieces of fish were placed on a piece of lettuce, a tomato and put inside a rather dull hamburger bun, with relish-tasting tartar sauce on the side. However, it all tasted fresh – the fish was not fatty or greasy, the breading was crisp, the lettuce was crunchy and you could actually taste the tomato. The French fries were fresh-cut, and while perhaps a little soggy were not overly-salted.

It was the biscuits and gravy which stole the show. The biscuits were warm, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The gravy was served in a bowl on the side, and looked suspiciously like grits – a mass of mash, mixed with sausage bits, in tablespoons of oil. However, mixed, it was heavenly – while not, perhaps, traditional gravy, the waitress explained that it was made like normal gravy and separated because of the ingredients; the chef made it up special. It was smooth, not fatty-tasting, and not too runny. The sausage, liquid and biscuits created a heterogeneous mixture, allowing the diner to push parts together and cut the biscuits with a fork.

While I love biscuits and gravy in general, I now realize what has been long with it for so long – it’s like living with poor eyesight for your whole life and, upon putting on correct-prescription glasses at 33, seeing what things actually look like – and realizing you’ve had a problem. These are worth the trip to Painesville alone, but when you get there, don’t be put off by the interior decorating. Judge DC’s for the food and the surroundings will cease to matter.