Rader's Restaurant in Loudonville, Ohio's Mohican Vacationland

Driving through Loudonville, Ohio on Ohio Route 3, one is struck by the host of canoe liveries, campgrounds, and other outdoor activities lurking on both sides of the highway. Loudonville is home to Mohican State Park and its Mohican River is Ohio's most popular waterway for canoeing. One nondescript brown building on Route 3 houses Rader's Restaurant, a popular local eatery that is known across North Central Ohio as the "House of Pies".

A few years ago after finding out my mother's cancer was terminal and she had only a few months to live, our family decided to rent a few cabins in the Loudonville area and enjoy our final vacation together. Since we are from the North Coast of Ohio, Lake Erie Perch has been a continuous staple of the family diet and was one of my mother's favorite dishes. One day for lunch we decided to search the surrounding area for some Lake Erie Perch.

The cabin manager told us that Rader's Restaurant, just up the road, had great perch so we were sold. Thirty minutes later, my wife and I returned with perch meals for the entire family which were devoured heartily. Later on that week, my wife and I tried Rader's excellent breakfast buffet to fuel up before hitting the beautiful hiking trails at Mohican State Park. And before our vacation finished, the family made sure to try some of Rader's famous pies. The fact that Rader's helped feed us during our final vacation together cemented the restaurant as a favorite in my mind.

Over the years, we've consistently stopped by Rader's when traveling through the Loudonville area. Our most recent visit was a few days before authoring this article. Naturally, I was surprised and disappointed that Lake Erie Perch was no longer on the menu, but the fried pollock sandwich was expertly breaded and tasted great. A new addition to the menu were fresh cut french fries that reminded me of the famous fries from Amherst Ohio's legendary Hot Dog Heaven. That morning's breakfast buffet was still going strong with the typical Rader's clientele of Loudonville locals and folks camping or hiking at Mohican.

When visiting Ohio's Mohican Country and the quaint little town of Loudonville, it's never a bad choice to stop by Rader's for lunch, dinner or even a piece of pie. A fine and inexpensive place to get a bite to eat, Steve Rader and his family have been feeding other families in the same spot for over 30 years. Its the perfect destination before or after canoeing the Mohican.