Buckeye Beer Engine

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Buckeye Beer Engine does not get that much play with the local food scene. Cheesecake and I went there last night; which was my first time. What can I say other than I was very, very impressed. If I lived on this side of town I would be either an alcoholic, chub tub, or an alcoholic chub tub.

I liked it on three separate levels: the beer, the food, and the setting.

The Beer
BBE offers up 27 different beers on tap. With four separate price points ranked by letters A thru D, with A being the most expensive, they have a beer for the aficionado as well as the “I don’t care, just gimme a goddam beer” crowd (my father falls in the latter category). Since I’m a huge fan of Bear Republic Brewing, I went with the Hop Rod Rye. A self proclaimed Racer 5 addict, I was surprised that I liked this one more than maybe Racer 5. Later on I finished my dinner with Buckeye Brewing’s, Buckeye Bling Bling; which ended up being okay. Aside from the one page draft list, they also have what I think is at least a 3 page bottled list that totals somewhere around the century mark. If they just served beer and nothing else I would drive from Shaker Heights to come here.

The Food
While we waited for the food to come, we talked about what makes a good burger. Does it have to be a hand-made patty or can it be preformed? Is it the bread? Is it the toppings? Is it the sides that come with it? Does price play a role? Does a burger get points if it's cheaper, like $6, but a click below the $16 version? The discussion could have lasted hours. Each question giving rise to new ones. It just the kind of exercise you want to be engaged in when there's an entire keg of Hop Rod Rye on tap.

From some of the things I’ve read BBE cited fairly regularly as having a good hamburger. Cheesecake would be the only one sampling the bovine bliss tonight due to the fact that I am in the middle of trying to lose weight. Here something cool: if you see a burger you like but don’t want the hamburger patty, you can substitute it for a chicken breast or a spicy bean patty. I ordered the Blackened Burger (chicken breast substitute), with Cajun seasoning, topped with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and blue cheese. It had an awesome char on it, the bun was just a plain (but very soft and fresh), and there was so many big chunks of cheese on it they were falling out the back of the bun. Looking back I think this is the best sandwich I’ve had this year. A side of shoestring fries and a deep fried pickle come with the sandwich.

Since I wasn’t allowed to substitute the baked beans for the fries, I ordered them “to go”. When I reheated them at home, they tasted like they were fresh out of the pot. What had intrigued me was the addition of the jalapenos. These beans tasted like my favorites down at City BBQ in Columbus. With a brown sugar influence, they tasted just like my favorites. The only difference between the two of these recipes was the subtle heat you felt at the end of each bite. If there was a gripe, it’s that there weren’t any chunks of brisket or pork (at least none that I could see). These were a special so they might not be on the menu if you go.

The Setting
A big bar dominates the central space of the restaurant, proudly declaring that beer is at the forefront of this establishment. Behind the bar sits a battalion of taps, eager to serve any thirsty customers who come through the door. To the left of the bar are tables and booths, with high boys rounding out the balance of the seating in the front of the restaurant. I know it isn’t much consolation heading into winter, but a sizeable patio area wraps around the front of the building. I actually like drinking great beer with loud music, but it might not be the place to take the elders if they’re looking for burgers, unless you can sit outside or they too enjoy loud music beer drinking. In which case, a good time will be had by all.

The bottom line is that this is THE place to have sandwiches and beer. I know this may be sacrilege but I’m going to go so far as to say that the beer (27 different drafts, 100+ bottles), the food (inventive tasty sandwiches with bread that will actually fit in your mouth), and setting (both have loud music, both have tables and chairs but BBE just has more of them, and no 2 hour wait). I have a gift certificate for Melt that I still have to use, but after that I think I’ve eaten for the last time at the one in Lakewood. As far as my D, D, and D Mondays have gone with Cheesecake, this one was the best yet. Buckeye Beer Engine is definitely worthy of a special drive from Shaker.

Buckeye Beer Engine
15315 Madison Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 226-2337
www.buckeyebeerengine.com

Brothers Lounge

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Lately, Monday nights have been my Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives explorations with brother-in-law Mike (a.k.a. Cheesecake). Since I had picked 56 West last week, it was his turn to pick this week. Initially he had wanted to take me to Big Guys Pizza in Tremont (next to Hotz Café), but they aren’t open on Mondays. Instead he chose Reddstone nestled in the Battery Park neighborhood (that has seemingly hit a housing bubble snag), near Detroit. Everything was going fine until we tried to walk in and it was closed. C’mon, man. What do you have to do to get some dinner around here? Since it was still his choice, he decided to go to Brothers Lounge near the corner of Detroit and West 117th.

Admittedly, I was a little skeptical of the three headed monster that is Brothers. If you’re not into pub food, there’s the wine bar. If you’re not into wine bars, there’s the music hall/patio. I’m not talking about three separate places. All of this stuff is, yes, under one roof. I suppose the skepticism comes from having the confidence that they could do all three things, and do them well.

The first thing you notice when you walk in the door, is that a small *scratch that* a large fortune was spent on woodwork. From the floors, to the trim, to the bars, everything in this place is the real deal. No laminate floors, cheap trim, cheap-o light fixtures, or plain concrete; the interior materials are old school craftsmanship.

As we sat down, the band that was playing that night was starting to trickle in. We were eating on the pub side of the restaurant. With the happy hour menu extending until seven o’clock, I wanted to try the sliders off of the happy hour menu. Cheesecake went with the wings. The Chicken Fresco sandwich had caught my eye, so I decided to get that as well.

The sliders (four mini burgers seasoned with Cajun spices, topped with Danish blue cheese, and onion straws and served with herb aioli), arrived first. They were essentially a burger patty cut into quarters, served on mini buns like you’d find at White Castle. I thought they were pretty good. The blue cheese and the onion straws really made the slider.

The wings and the Chicken Fresco sandwich came next and looked very promising. First, I can only assume that the wings were good because the only thing left at the end was a pile of bones. The chicken sandwich was also quite good. Consisting of chicken, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, basil, and herb aioli on a baguette, the first bite was the perfect mouthful of peppers, cheese, and chicken on a nice soft baguette. Served with fries, I thought the sandwich was also a winner.

All told, the menu is pretty affordable. Most of the appetizers are in the $7-9 range, sandwiches (served with choice of fries or pasta salad) are either $8 or $9, with entrees coming in at $12-$17. I can’t really speak for the Wine Bar, but the selection of beers is okay – maybe a click down from Tremont Taphouse. Speaking of which, if I had to compare Brothers’ (pub side) menu to anything, it would be Tremont Taphouse. I’m not much of a wine bar or live music kind of person, but I have to say that if the line is ever too long at Melt, this would be a great nearby alternative.

Brothers Lounge
11609 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 226-2767
www.brotherslounge.com

56 West

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Since I was on my own for dinner I decided to meet my brother-in-law (who happens to be my default dinner partner when my wife isn’t available), to try 56 West in Lakewood.

Since I have been on the weight loss program for the last couple of months, it has become a little more difficult to find places that are friendly to fatties trying to shed pounds. The menu at 56 West seemed to have a few viable options. Since neither of us had ever been, we decided to give it a try.

56 West is collectively about the size of Melt’s current configuration. The kitchen and a waiting area are on the right side, where the entrance is, and the dining room is on the entire left side.

The menu offers many creative items that don’t venture too far out into the hinterlands, but do give a welcome variety. All burgers and sandwiches are served with only a pickle. If you want fries or anything else, you have to order those for an extra couple bucks. This doesn’t bother me since I don’t want the fries, but this is the type of thing that drives the “stick to your ribs” crowd to the exits.

I opted for the ONE HOT CHICK which is a marinated chicken breast with spicy fried onion straws, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red curry mayonnaise. I also got a side of the SULTRY SLAW made with Napa cabbage, shredded carrots, scallions, in a rice wine vinaigrette, and sesame seeds. I thought the chicken sandwich was a winner. The slaw on the other hand, was waaaay too chunky. There were some pretty tough pieces of cabbage that I don’t think would have tasted good if shredded to a quarter of the size. The pieces should have never made it into the slaw, they should have tossed out.

My Brother-in-law was less than thrilled with his burger. I can’t say that I really blame him, the patty was kind of small. Without a bun it really looked small (think George Castanza and the pool shrinkage). At the end of the day it was a puny eight dollar bacon and cheddar burger without anything else but a pickle.

When it was all said and done, it was one up (mine) and one down (his). I think 56 West is nice option for a quick cheap bite for those in the neighborhood, but I don’t see it as much more than that. If you are a big eater, and by that I mean a Man vs. Food type, you will definitely want to pass this place up - Melt it is not. While I thought mine was good, I don’t think it warrants a special trip from the east side.

56 West
16300 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 226-0056
www.fiftysixwest.com

The Magic of Melt

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I am a huge fan of Melt. I just think it's such a fun place to go. Check the diet and the concept of time at the door. Within this space diets and time don't exist. One of the frequent complaints I hear is, "It takes too long to get a seat." When did you go? Thursday thru Saturday? Did you think it was going to be empty?

I was meeting my brother-in-law, sister, and 1 1/2 year old nephew. I got there at 6:30 and we had maybe a 20 minute wait. True story. I hate when people make it sound like there's always a huge line or wait to get into a place. A little bit of planning goes a long way.

We sit down at the table and the nephew was loving the plastic jack-0-lanterns (Ra Ra's as he calls them), that lined the shelves behind the bar. I love the laid back atmosphere, the beer selection, and the menus. In case you haven't been the menus are pasted to old album covers ending at about 1985-ish. It's a great topic of conversation, impromptu singing of songs from one of the album menus along with a childhood story usually ensues. In this case Ratt would be the album cover, Round and Round would be the impromptu song, and some seriously unattended childhood friends of mine huffing gasoline would be the story. Ah yes, memories...(or if you're huffing gasoline lack of memory).

I ordered the Curried Pumpkin Soup. I like spice and I got it. Served with goldfish, the soup is going to be a real winner once it gets below 50 degrees. Speaking of things that are going to taste good when it gets below 50, I had the Founder's Breakfast Stout. Snap! A) It'll put hair on your chest (maybe your back, too) B) It could put you in the happy place if you should happen to drink too many too quickly. I wish I had been drinking those during the Browns game on Monday Night. Try it.

For dinner I had the Mama's Meat Loaf. It's served as a sandwich, but there was no way I was going to be able to eat this thing without it ejaculating something all over my lap. The human mouth can only open so wide. How am I or anyone else besides Bowzer from Sha Na Na going to fit a healthy slice of meatloaf sandwiched between two slices of thick Texas Toast?

As usual everything was good. I always like to take fun people with me when I go here. My sister and her husband were great company, and my nephew held up well through the entire visit (only being occupied by an old disconnected Blackberry and a candy necklace). If you like beer, don't worry about the wait. Drink up. What's the big hurry?

Melt Bar & Grilled
14718 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
www.meltbarandgrilled.com