Thursday, October 9, 2008

Tremont Tap House – Do Believe the Hype

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There are a few places around town that we’ve wanted to try for some time now: Luxe, Tartine Bistro, and Tremont Tap House. I’ve heard nothing but good things about all three. On a whim we decided to head down to Tremont Tap House for the happy hour specials.

While it’s technically in the Tremont neighborhood, Tap house is actually in a standalone building at the corner of Starkweather and Scranton. It’s right in the middle of a residential neighborhood with a small parking lot in the back of the building. The interior space is long and narrow and connected to a very spacious outdoor patio.

The happy hour specials included $1.50 off draught beer, $5 Tap House burger ($2 extra for fries *a ton of*), $5 calamari, and about 5 or 6 other $5 items.



We started out with the calamari and the short rib sliders. The calamari is an incarnation that seems to becoming more and more popular, lightly breaded calamari with roasted hot pepper rings and a sweet and spicy dipping sauce. We both approved. The short rib sliders were awesome. Two sliders with small toasted buns, ultra-tender beef short rib, topped with a pickled slaw. I literally could have eaten a dozen of these things.

For dinner I ordered the Joshua Burger (bacon, cheddar, and barbeque sauce) with a TON of fresh cut fries. The burger was juicy as hell. Be warned, hold that thing over the plate when you bite into it or juice is going to fly everywhere. Delicious.

The bride had the Smoked ham and turkey sandwich with brie, cranberry relish, on raison walnut bread. I don’t know what it is but turkey and brie are a great 1-2 punch. I had a similar sandwich at Cosi (Cosi bread is the shite), and loved every bite.

Breaking with tradition, we did not order any dessert. We were too full. It was a good amount of food. So what did we think? I’ve actually been there again since our first visit. It’s a great place. Good beer list, good prices, and good atmosphere. My sense is that Tremont Tap House will be here for a very long time. It’s the consummate Cleveland eatery: good food, large portions, unassuming atmosphere, and great value. I would put this in the same category as Melt, without the wait. Let me say this about that. Why do people get so worked up about waiting when there’s a good beer selection. Just drink until you’re seated. For me the time flies.

Tremont Tap House
2572 Scranton Rd
Cleveland, OH 44113
www.tremonttaphouse.com
Tremont Tap House on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. Just had their chorizo and goat cheese tacos as well as pretzel with smoked cheddar and imperial stout sauce. Good lord...one of the best meals I have had in months. This place is a gem.

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  2. I agree, the place truly is a gem. The only fear I have is that because people don't drive past it they don't know it's there. The chirizo and goat cheese tacos are on the radar. For me it's a great place to go with a non-foodie kind of person because it has something for everyone as well as being a great value. In my opinion it's "very Cleveland".

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  3. I have to agree. I actually just drove past it on my way home from the Browns game and my buddy in the car would have never spotted it. He could hardly see it even when I pointed it out. Tap House is a place I constantly recommend with confidence to non-foodie people and they come back and rave. There's still a lot on the menu that I would like to try, and I hope to be getting around to that soon. Great write-up!

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