Canton,
Ohio, USA
A fantastic exploration of Asian
Cuisine
Dined
in April 2014
I visit Canton, Ohio several times a year to see family, and
had seen the Basil Restaurant when I was
downtown during the cities major events like the First Friday, and had wanted to try the restaurant, so knowing I
was coming back in April, I made my reservations. Just prepare for some wear
and tear on your vehicle when you drive through the city to dine at Basil, the roads
are horrible, full of pot holes, and falling apart. Someone forgot to allocate
funds to infrastructure projects.
World’s Top 100:
Other trending restaurants on
wine, Dine, and Play:
Trending wines:
Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
Star
ratings chart:
5 stars
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Extraordinary
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4 stars
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Outstanding
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3 stars
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Exceeded
expectations
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2 stars
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Above average
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1 star
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Average
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No star rating
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Basic,
poor, or appalling
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Review basics:
Overall Star rating by
Wine, Dine, & Play:
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4 of 5 stars
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Quality of food:
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8 of 10
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Presentation:
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7 of 10
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Customer service:
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8 of 10
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Ambiance:
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7 of 10
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Corkage fee’s:
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American Restaurant standard is $25.00 per bottle
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Restaurant style:
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Casual, to Semi-formal dining
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Dress code:
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Business casual, Smart casual,
or Conservative attire
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Reservations:
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Not Required, but recommended
Make reservation through opentable.com, or by contacting the
restaurant directly. See contact info below the review section
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Walk-ins:
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Not guaranteed
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Child policy:
 |
The Restaurants reviewed on
this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full
enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in
attendance. Hire a Babysitter. See Alinea Baby Gate,
god I love Alinea.
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Cuisine style:
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Asian, Bistro, Asian-fusion, Pacific, Thai, Chinese,
Japanese, & Vegetarian
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Music styles:
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Background instrumental
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Business parties, Romantic, Hot spot,
Great bar, Good for special occasions, Rustic, Classy, Upscale, Trendsetting,
and a Neighborhood gem.
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Gratuities:
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Industry standard is 18-20% added to parties of 6 or more
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner’s,
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Parking:
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Parking is available in the lot located behind the
restaurant and there is ample on-street parking for a fee.
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Transport options:
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The restaurants reviewed on
this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the
excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead
of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Low, to Medium
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant
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Patio:
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no
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Chef:
Luong Ly
Food price per person
(Excluding gratuity)
Price chart:
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - Under 75.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
Currencies
chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur's
My food bill:
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Currency:
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Country :
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Price chart:
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$79.00
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United States Dollar (USD)
|
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$$ ½
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£ 46.91
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Great Britain Pound
Sterling (GBP)
|
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£
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€ 57.96
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European Union
(EUR)
|
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€€
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$ 86.27
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
|
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$$ ½
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$ 85.45
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Australian Dollar
(AUS)
|
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$$ ½
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¥ 488.10
|
Chinese Yuan
(CNY)
|
 |
¥¥¥¥
|
Visit these sites to
get up to date currency rates:
Alternatively, visit:
Scroll down below the main review to see cost of wines and tasting
notes.
From restaurants home page:
Basil derives its name from being “an essential ingredient
in our Asian cooking,” explains Tony Ly, Manager. If you’re looking for Italian
dishes – you won’t find any, but we think you’ll be thrilled with house
favorite, Coconut Spaghetti! Come meet the new generation of the Ly dynasty.
Basil shares the same roots at Ricky Ly. Ricky Ly brought upscale Asian cuisine
to Stark County over two decades ago. Basil Asian Bistro is run by the Ly
family. Tony’s father, Luong Ly, is the head chef. The Ly family uses only the
freshest ingredients along with unique cooking techniques. The menu items are
inspired by Pacific and Southeastern Asian cuisine and feature gourmet
offerings such as spicy Szechuan, Thai curries and Pad Thai and fresh sushi.
There also are traditional dishes available at the restaurant, including 23
different stir fry options, such as General Tso’s chicken and moo goo gai pan. Get
an up close look at our downtown Canton restaurant and our commitment to
preparation perfection in our video.
Main review:
The restaurant is located in the arts or historical district
of downtown Canton. The older buildings are a work of art with a lot of Freemasonry, which you can tell by the
designs, and the symbolic nature of some of the buildings. Pyramid symbols are
everywhere, and on the ceiling of the restaurant etched into the stone were hundreds
of Fleur de Lys symbols. Above the restaurant on the second floor was President William McKinley’s
law office before he was elected President. Close by the downtown area is the
McKinley Park where he was laid to rest in September 1901, after his
assassination, and the Presidential Library is also nearby his tomb.
I made my reservations at Basil, and then since I was dining
alone, decided to enjoy my meal at the bar. The Bar Tender, Chris was the
spitting image of Guy Fieri from the Food Network Show “Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives” you can see the picture below and judge for yourself.
So with some Frank Sinatra playing in the background, it was time to dine.
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| Picture courtesy of wickedimproper.com |
I started my meal the way you would honestly start any
traditional Asian Cuisine, and since Japanese styles were available, then a
sushi sampler it was, consisting of two pieces of sake, maguro,
ebi, which is a style or preparation
of shrimp and Hamachi, which
is commonly referred to as Yellowtail, but it is actually part of the Amber jack
family. Nigiri
style spicy tuna maki,
which is sliced raw fish with a molded sushi roll that includes toasted seaweed
nori, a ball of rice underneath, with a dab of wasabi. Then to finish off the
dish, which technically was a second course, there was a tasting of Miso Soup
which was a Japanese bean paste, with
seaweed and tofu, along with a sushi California Roll consisting of a crab stick, cucumber, and avocado mixture.
Now that I had my sushi out of the way and was feeling like
I was in seventh heaven, I wanted to explore the other areas of the menu. The
Sushi Chef nailed the perfect starter for me, so it was time to go from Japan
to Korea with spicy pork wontons lightly pan fried in a spicy teriyaki sauce
that consisted of chili, vinegar, and soy, garnished with green onions. I had a
glass of Bandwagon Pinot Noir (Scroll down below the main review to see
wine tasting notes), with this course which has grape
mixtures from California, and Oregon.
For my entrée course I had the Peking duck, a whole duck,
which you have to order in advance because of the long cooking time, and upon
completion is filet table-side by the Chef. Unfortunately, I did not see the
display that day, the duck was cut up in the kitchen, so I hope to see the
presentation next time. I enjoyed the duck with a bowl of house fried rice, wok
tossed with eggs, carrots, peas, and onions. The duck also came with some
Vietnamese bread dough used to make small duck sandwiches, scallions, and sauce.
With the meal I enjoyed a nice warm glass of Ozeki Saké, and
though produced in California, it was still a good dry Saké.
This Restaurant reminds me of:
Wonderful mixture of Asian Cuisine, that reminds me of 5A5 Steak Lounge in San Francisco, which prepared a fusion Asian blend that, could
knock your socks off.
Cost of wines and other
alcoholic beverages in USD:
$27.00
Tasting
Notes:
Wine & Grape:
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Nose (Bouquet):
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Palette Experience:
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The Arroyo Seco and Willamette Valley are each great
growing regions. Cool afternoon breezes and gravel-laden soil distinguish
California’s Arroyo Seco growing area. Oregon’s Willamette Valley is known
for world-class, cool-weather pinot noir. Bandwagon Pinot Noir has raspberry
and rose petal aromas.
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This is a complex pinot noir that combines the bright
acidity from Oregon with a distinctly California fruit-forward style. Rich in
color, yet delicate and balanced, vanilla, green tea and cherry flavors round
out the palate.
FOOD PAIRINGS: Bandwagon Pinot Noir is delicious to sip by
itself or enjoy with salmon, grilled pork chops or light pasta.
APPELLATION: California, Oregon
WINEMAKER: Tony Leonardini, 13.9%
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Ozeki Dry Saké is a dry Saké with a
refreshing fruity flavor and tastes best when served chilled. 14.5%. Brewed
in California.
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This is an excellent choice for first time sake drinkers
due to its lower alcohol content and smooth taste. . It pairs well with
chicken, light Asian dishes, sashimi, sushi,
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Wine Regulatory:
Restaurant address:
585 Market Ave N,
Canton, OH
44702
Neighborhood:
Arts District
Cross streets:
5th & 6th Streets
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 40.878783 N
Longitude: -81.363724 W
Contact Information:
Maître d, reservations:
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(330) 452-3888
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Website:
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Email:
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Online Reservations :
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Mon-Thurs: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Fri.: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sat: 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5:00)
Proprietor / Manager:
Tony Ly
Review by:
Chef Sean Overpeck (CFE)
"Culinary perfection
consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things
extraordinarily well."
TTFN
