What a coincidence--was JUST about to post the same question since I think we may take a little impromptu road trip and use up some Marriott points. Would love some suggestions on good eats! Either that or I'm afraid the SO will have us going to Des Moines (NO, I'm not kidding). TIA.

I still think Momocho and Lolita are worth visiting, but for LOTS more info on Cleveland, my friend and serious food blogger Nancy Heller, who lives in Cleveland, has a great blog on eating out in and around Cleveland. The blog includes food from her travels, as well, but mostly focuses on Cleveland -- with lots of details and photos. And since she's the one who got me to both Momocho and Lolita, as well as to The Purple Pig when she came to Chicago, I would feel pretty confident about anything she recommends.

http://funplayingwithfood.blogspot.com/

I had less time than I wanted to enjoy Cleveland in April, and exited with no pictures of that stage. I do have some possibly entertaining intel on Central Ohio road diners to come. My group waited in line for a Steve's Gyros at the West Side Market, which at $7 fed about four people (I believe it is 2 lb of meat, a house mix, not particularly lamb-y). The tzatziki was delicious but the sandwich overall did not shake my Chicago favorites. The market itself is everything you'd want it to be (spend much more time than I did, and/or bring a cooler).

The Great Lakes Brewing Company pleasantly surprised me on food. The pillowy soft pretzels with assorted mustards were addicting and re-ordered. My spicy pizza was actually excellent, with the (Cleveland-ubiquitous) banana peppers and a blistery crust. The brews were of course grand.

Bumping this thread--I have two lunches, one breakfast and one dinner in Cleveland next week (quick trip over for the Thursday Sweet 16)--no kids, just SO and me---andddddd GO!

Definitely Velvet Tango Room and maybe Lolita, they're close so it could be a one-two punch.

Yes to Velvet Tango Room. It's been around since the mid-90's I believe. Their Manhattan is my favorite anywhere. But prices are steep - higher than most places I've been to in Chicago. I believe last time I was there they were $16?

Also in that general area:

Mitchell's Ice Cream
The West Side Market (a must for shopping)
Phnom Pen for Cambodian and Vietnamese

I also enjoyed the food at Market Garden Brewery and Great Lakes Brewery, also in that same area.

Bump!

Anyone been to Cleveland lately? My first visit will be next week for work. Really only have Tuesday afternoon and evening to explore. Staying downtown and will rely on rideshares, public transit, and my legs, I guess.

I have been to Cleveland, OH. numerous times since 1992. I have utilized all four methods of travel to there (automobile, airplane, bus, train).
Back in October 2016, for an unimaginable reason, lots of people in Chicago wanted to travel to Cleveland.
So I composed a World-Wide Web page giving key data.
I recommend browsing it.

Anything new/post-pandemic in Cleveland that might be worth a stop? We've got a dinner, a lunch and Sunday brunch slot open. Not looking for anything fancy or high-end. Other than that, no particular parameters.

Hoping to revisit VTR for a few rounds too, as we haven't been in the post-Paulius era.

Thanks,

=R=

Have you been to Mt. Pleasant BBQ? Good stuff, served in quantity. They serve a delicious, and especially messy version of the Cleveland Polish Boy that adds a layer of pulled pork to the fries and slaw already covering a deep fried kielbasa. Be sure to ask for the"Deluxe" to add the pork.

Very good fried fish too.

Good selection of sides including Mac & Cheese, Collards, BBQ Beans, and fresh cut Fries.

No place to sit, strictly carry out, but I always drive, so I've got a folding table and chairs in my trunk. There's a spot off to the side where you can set up.

I assume you're already familiar with the usual suspects; Balaton, Flat Iron Cafe, Bearden's, Slyman's, etc.

Sadly two of my favorite restaurants in the world are no more; Sokolowski's University Inn and Babushka's. Retirement did them both in, although the pandemic hastened Sololowski's departure. Sigh.

Send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you a full itinerary from a Cleveland/Akron Crawl we did a couple of years ago.

Buddy

Mt. Pleasant BBQ
12725 Kinsman Rd
Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 561-8722
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mt-pleasant-bar-b-q-cleveland

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Have you been to Mt. Pleasant BBQ? Good stuff, served in quantity. They serve a delicious, and especially messy version of the Cleveland Polish Boy that adds a layer of pulled pork to the fries and slaw already covering a deep fried kielbasa. Be sure to ask for the"Deluxe" to add the pork.

Very good fried fish too.

Good selection of sides including Mac & Cheese, Collards, BBQ Beans, and fresh cut Fries.

No place to sit, strictly carry out, but I always drive, so I've got a folding table and chairs in my trunk. There's a spot off to the side where you can set up.

I assume you're already familiar with the usual suspects; Balaton, Flat Iron Cafe, Bearden's, Slyman's, etc.

Sadly two of my favorite restaurants in the world are no more; Sokolowski's University Inn and Babushka's. Retirement did them both in, although the pandemic hastened Sololowski's departure. Sigh.

Send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you a full itinerary from a Cleveland/Akron Crawl we did a couple of years ago.

Buddy

Mt. Pleasant BBQ
12725 Kinsman Rd
Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 561-8722
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mt-pleasant-bar-b-q-cleveland

Thanks, Jeff. A very nice 1,000th post from you, too. I really appreciate the lead. Love Slyman's and some of the old guard, etc. but was hoping to branch out, so the BBQ rec. is especially helpful. PM on its way.

Very sad news about Babushka's and Sololowski's. Big bummers.

Thanks again!

=R=

A thousand, eh...Time sure flies when you're arguing about food.

Buddy

Our daughter was at Case Western for 4 years so my wife 2019-2022, and my wife and I made regular treks to Cleveland and usually took our daughter out when there. These recommendations are all near Case, in the Murray Hill, Euclid Heights area.

For a brunch, you might want to try Inn on Coventry. It was our regular Sat/Sun brunch stop. The Lemon Ricotta pancakes are beyond delicious.
https://innoncoventryrestaurant.com/
2785 Euclid Heights

The Algebra Tea House has a great selection of *very* interesting (and yummy) teas and very delicious middle eastern lunch fare. Good for an afternoon tea and snack.
https://algebrateahouse.com/
2136 Murray Hill Rd

If you want to break out of your lower price point, Zhug, has some very excellent and unique cocktails and Middle Eastern Mezze. They don't take reservations so if you aren't there early in the evening on the weekend, the wait can be a while.
https://zhugcle.com/
12413 Cedar Road

Enjoy!

I always enjoyed Corky and Lenny's on Chagrin Blvd just off the bypass.

As someone who apparently only goes to Cleveland for extremely rare events - the eclipse brought me back for the first time since the far more rare Cubs World Series win in 2016 - I was thrilled to have meals at two places that have opened since my last visit that blew me away. As long as Larder and Cordelia remain in business, I can't imagine missing either one on every future trip to Cleveland.

Larder, which opened in 2018, is is a deli that puts Chicago to absolute shame. I went on Saturday. If they'd been open on Sunday and Monday, I would have gone back twice. Lots of good background info in this Eater article. While the place definitely has Jewish deli vibes, it's worth noting that the no pork plan referenced in the article has been abandoned to the point that there were pig heads hanging in the cooler in the middle of the restaurant, presumably for the housemade guanciale among other things.

Chartuterie isn't the only food preservation technique employed. There are jars of various fermenting foods all over the place.



The koji-cured pastrami seems to be the item they're best known for and one bite in it's easy to see why. This is world class pastrami. I can't say I would have been able to pick out koji, but this was was some supremely flavorful and uber tender beef.


The mixed pickle platter, a steal at $10.50, was the best selection of pickles I've ever had the privilege of eating. Each item involved different spices. My favorites were the "bread and smoke pickles" which included some heavily toasted bread crumbs for the smoke component, the Korean pickles, and the golden curry beets.


There's a large pastry selection there and while the chocolate rugelach and the strawberry Danish were both excellent, it was the miso magic cookie, with its medley of flavors and textures that really stood out. Sweet, salty, sticky, crunchy, crispy, gooey, chocolatey, peanut butter-y, and miso-y.

I'm not going to say Cordelia was better than Larder, but I'm also not going to say it was worse. With Chef Vinnie Cimino, the former chef de cuisine of Greenhouse Tavern, behind the food and the location in the former Lola space, this place is the next generation of Cleveland food royalty.




I wasn't going to get the burger, which is kind of an homage to Ohio-born White Castle (that's four mini burgers stuck together), but we were seated at the counter and it looked too good to pass up. That was a wise decision. I've had a lot of burgers. A lot. All over the country. If someone put this burger on a list of the 10 best burgers in the United States, I wouldn't say they were wrong. If this place was in Chicago and someone put together a top 10 burgers in Chicago list and Cordelia wasn't on it, there's a decent chance I'd disregard everything else that writer had to say about food.

The menu just says "1921 style, smoked cheddar pickles, onion, our sauce." That clearly doesn't cover everything, most notably the beef, the everything bagel type seasoning on the bread, the specifics on the bread, the contents of the sauce, or what they're doing to get those super green pickles. What I do know is these smashed burgers get a whole bunch of salt while on the griddle along with a massive amount of cheese, and that every single component works. As long as Cordelia is open, I will not set foot in Cleveland and not eat this burger.


A lot of the food has Asian elements, including the second best item we had - the beef tartare that incorporate shoyu and sesame and was served with a ramp pancake.


The ants on a log made with champagne-soaked rhubarb, golden raisins soaked in something we weren't told, and pistachio under the rhubarb in paste/butter form was a fun start to the meal.


The artichoke dip with rainbow chard and "creamy cheese" isn't super photogenetic, but it was (relatively low bar) the best artichoke dip I've ever had. Would happily order again. The chips were allegedly malt garlic flavor, but they just tasted like top notch homemade salty chips to us.


The cabbage and cold noodles was yet another winner. Made with Akron honey, sesame and chili crunch, this was an addictive bowl.

For dessert we had a butterscotch pudding that fell a little short for us. It was too thin and, after the explosion of flavors in the rest of the meal, too muted. Probably would have been good as a starter.

Side note on Cleveland. I did want to get my first Polish Boy in 8 years, but it appears to be a dying art form. Hot Sauce Wiliams, Seti's and Freddie's are all closed. There are still some other options but none that the internet could convince me to spend time and stomach space on.