Neighborhood spots - East and West

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As much as we’d like to believe that every meal we have is going to be a memorable one, the truth is that many of them are just good. Is it a crime to not have a restaurant that makes it onto Travel Channel or the Food Network. The chef may not be a well known James Beard nominee or even award winner. I’m a fan of the little places that serve their local neighborhoods and put out a good product every night, just as much as those grabbing national headlines.

I’ve pulled out a handful of short reviews that I think warrant a mention. Two are pizza places and two are small restaurants. Enjoy.

Brennan’s Colony
If there’s a definition of neighborhood restaurant/bar, this is it. You can walk into this place on any given night and it will be full or very close to full. The regular menu offers a wide array of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, etc. The beers on tap had a wide variety from domestic piss to imported piss to a few craft beers. (I got DH 60 minute).

I had a particularly difficult time trying to figure out what I wanted from the specials menu because it had so many things that sounded good. After being told how good the ribs were, I compromised and ordered the pulled pork sandwich. All I can say is that it was reasonably priced, good size, and tasted good. How can you complain about that? There’s a lot of competition that has cropped up in the area in the last few years and it’s still going strong. They have good food at a good price. Probably not worth a drive across town from the west side, but if you’re in the neighborhood it’s a great place to stop.

Brennan's Colony
2299 Lee Rd
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
(216) 371-1010



Papa Santi’s
This is a new takeout/delivery pizza place that opened about 3 or 4 months ago in Woodmere. (It sounds eerily similar to another popular pizzeria in Little Italy that I think is highly overrated.) Housed in the old Pizza Hut To Go space (near Kinko’s on Chagrin), Papa Santi’s fills a pizza void in the Woodmere/Orange/Pepperpike area.

On a night that I was flying solo I decided to give them a shot. On their website they’re described as “Sicilian Style”. When I think of Sicilian style I’m thinking square pizza, square pieces, and a butt load of dough. This is not that kind of pie. (Not that I’m complaining, as I think no human should consume that much dough in one sitting). I would describe it somewhere between bar style and Midwest style. The pizza I had (pepperoni and sausage) tasted fine but nothing I would make a special trip for. My guess is that it will fill the immediate area's need for birthday parties, football games, and sleepovers for years to come.

Papa Santi's
27521 Chagrin Blvd
Beachwood, OH 44122
(216) 896-9855
http://www.papasantis.com/



Johnny’s Little Bar
A couple months ago I stopped in and grabbed a burger with a friend. I think in my mind I may have romanticized the quality of the food there to better than it was. It wasn’t as good as I remembered it being. Had the quality dropped off? Was there something wrong with my brain that I didn’t know what good food tasted like?

I recently stopped in again to make sure I wasn’t crazy. It was while I was waiting for my burger that I realized the problem, the quality hadn’t slipped – I think Cleveland’s restaurants have just raised their burger game. There are now a lot of places that offer a high quality and imaginative hamburger now (even in the downtown area). Little Bar will never want for customers. The menu is a good value and the food is solid. If I could change anything it would be that they add one more server. I have always felt as if there are too many customers for the waitstaff to adequately handle.

Johnny's Little Bar
614 Frankfort Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 861-2166



Big Guy’s Pizza

This Tremont pizza place is actually a takeout place that will serve pizza at Hotz’s Café (directly next door), if you want to sit down and eat. They effectively use Hotz’s as a shared dining room. I’m guessing that Hotz’s doesn’t mind this since it seems to be more bar than café.

I think the surrounding neighborhood represents the lion’s share of Big Guy’s business. Again, the pizza is in that Midwest/Bar Pizza genre. They do put what I remember them calling a “Garlic Bomb” (used to be a whole bulb, but now a half bulb of roasted garlic) in the middle of the pie. It smells awesome when you open the box, but you aren’t quite sure what to do with it once it comes time to eat. Are you supposed to squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins onto the pizza? I don't know. It’s a decent pizza, but nothing I would make a special trip for.

Big Guy's Pizza
2539 W 10th St
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 436-8888

La Bodega

Since I was going down to Tremont to pick up cupcakes at A Cookie and a Cupcake I figured I might as well grab lunch while I was down there. My brother-in-law had good things to say about past experiences at La Bodega. I’m always game for all things good, especially when they have to do with food.

After the cupcake pickup I headed over there. Located caddy corner to Tremont School, the sandwich shop is half kitchen and half dining area. The dining area has about 6 or 7 tables in it with a couple of two tops and four or five 4 tops.

Usually when I go into a place for the first time, especially in Cleveland, I’ll just ask for the best thing on the menu. My reasoning is that if that sucks then I will most likely not return.

In this case the best (or most popular) is the #45 Southwestern Sub with turkey, bacon, jalapeno peppers, colored peppers, tomato, onion, spices, hot sauce, cajun mayo, jack cheese, served with a bag of chips. If you like spicy things this thing is pretty long on flavor.

The night before, Regina and I were talking about the importance of bread when it comes to the making of a great sandwich. How important do you think the bread is when it comes to a great sandwich? Does it account for 50% of a good sandwich? Maybe the question can be posed like this: What would you rather have awesome meats and condiments on average bread, or vice versa? I don’t know, I probably want the better bread.

On the subject of bread, La Bodega has a thin crusty French bread roll that they use. It’s not an artisinal kind of bread, but one that kind of reminds me a little bit of Mr. Hero. At any rate, I think it’s a winner.

At the end of the day there are over 60 kinds of sandwiches offered on nine different kinds of bread. No matter what your preference I have to believe that there’s something for everyone at La Bodega.

La Bodega
869 Jefferson Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 621-7075
www.labodega-tremont.com

A Cookie and Cupcake (with an accent on the cupcake)

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I decided to head down to Tremont to procure a Valentine’s Day dessert for tonight. Regina had wanted to surprise me with some cupcakes from A Cookie and a Cupcake on Professor, but they were out of the red velvets when she called on Friday.

Who here thought the cupcake craze would last this long? It's been raging pretty hard for a while now and like this recession it doesn't show any signs of stopping. I can't really say what it is, but if I'm at a party with a tupperware container full of these things I lose all self control. As a courtesy I'll verbally warn everyone.

I'll say, "Listen up everyone! If anyone would like a (with an emphasis on the singular) cupcake take them now. In fifteen minutes their open game and it ain't gonna' be pretty." Women, children, and especially men will come running.

Have you ever seen anyone leave a party with leftover cupcakes? It's never happened. Ever. Go ahead Google it.

Opened by Wendy Thompson and Syndee Klingenberg last fall, Cookie and a Cupcake is a pure pastry shop. These two women teamed up at Lockkeeper/Dante as the top two pastry chefs. I think it’s kind of funny that these two set up shop only to have the new Dante set to open sometime this year about 5 or 6 doors down.

*Sorry for the blurry picture. It was my idea to put them in front of the brick wall. The 50mm lens offers great field of depth, but when you hastily focus you end up with misfires like this.*

The shop has a wide range of cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and other small pastries. They also specialize in creating cakes for special occasions. No bread, no scones, no muffins, or croissants. Diabetics beware.

From the get go the cupcakes looked good; plenty of frosting, not insanely large, and quite a variety. I picked up a Grasshopper (mint frosting with chocolate cake), Carrot Cake, and a couple of Red Velvets. I’m a huge sucker for red velvet.

So how do they taste? I mean that’s really why we’re here, right?

After dinner we decided to cut these suckers in half and taste test the three different varieties. This is what I really liked: when Regina split them in half you could see that they jammed the pastry bag into the center of the cupcake (I’m assuming that’s what they did). I like it because it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Let’s face it, the frosting is the best part. Why not share the love with the center of the cupcake? The frosting is a butter cream, with a cake that is not at all dry.


I think the interesting thing about Tremont is that it lacks ice cream shops and bakeries. I think these ladies definitely fill a void in the neighborhood. A Cookie and a Cupcake is worth A Look and a Taste.

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 344-9433
www.acookieandacupcake.com

Ty Fun

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Tremont never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the sheer number of good restaurants that exist in such a small geographic area. I like to try new places just as much as anyone else. I, however, it a little harder to do in Tremont because so many of my favorites already reside there. It's hard to pass up a tried and true fave for the unknown.

Enter Ty Fun.

This choice wasn't particularly hard for me, due to the fact that my wife was including it as part of my surprise visit to The Improv to see Lavell Crawford. As a side note he has one of the funniest acts I've ever seen.

If there's one thing I don't like about Tremont it's that the snow removal can be horribly lacking. On the night we went it was not pretty.

After parking the sled we head into the restaurant. I'm immediately struck by how small it is. I'm guessing that capacity is somewhere around 20-30 people.

The décor is very tasteful and restrained. I've noticed that a lot of Thai restaurants have a tendency to go trinket crazy. You aren't going to find any of that here. Pillows double as backrests along the side wall, which has inward facing benches. The back walls have modern artwork with gold leaf decoration.

For dinner I had the #18 (the server told me that was her favorite dish), which is the Kai Kra Prow Sautéed sliced chicken breast with red pepper, onion, string beans and basil leaves in chili garlic sauce. Wow! I thought it was a great balance of spice and flavor, while not being overly heavy on the sauce.

Regina had the Gang Keow Whan which had Jumbo Shrimp, green curry cooked in coconut milk with string beans, eggplant, zucchini and basil leaves. She runs from anything spicy just as quickly as I run to it. Overall, she was pleased with the large amount of vegetables and shrimp that were swimming in a savory (not spicy) broth of coconut milk and curry.

If you've read any of our past posts you know that we're dessert freaks. Typically when it comes to Asian food the equation goes something like this: Asian Restaurant = Bad Dessert. Not here. You have got to get the Chocolate Mousse Cake. It was the best dessert I've ever had at a purely Asian restaurant. It consisted of chocolate mouse covered in different types of chocolate shavings.


I'm adding Ty Fun to my Tremont rotation. It is definitely a must try if you're daring enough to go somewhere other than one of the established Tremont institutions.

Ty Fun
815 Jefferson Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 664-1000
www.tyfunthaibistro.com

Fridgid Temps Thawed by Fahrenheit

Tonight we braved the flying slush and met my mother-in-law and brothers-in-law at Fahrenheit for dinner (yeah, we just ate with them yesterday). We hadn't been there since last winter. The last time we were there I was struck by the smallish size of the entrees. I don't know if it was reality or just a case of bad memory, but I was interested to see what tonight's dinner would hold.

We had just came in from the freezing monsoon outside and were starved. After a short deliberation we decided on the 12" Pizza with Serrano Ham, Fig Chutney, Melted Brie and Leeks. I thought it was a little undercooked, otherwise it was okay. I don't know what it is, but sometimes we order something that is absolutely epic and end up judging everything from that day on against it. We had an unbelievable fig pizza in San Francisco at NOPA, so now we end up disappointed when we order anything close to it. I might be done with fig pizzas all together.

What about entrees? I ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli, Brown Butter, Parmesan Cheese, Fried Basil. The ravioli was perfectly cooked. The squash filling was nice and soft . While I was really intrigued by the fried basil I couldn't really taste it. The verdict is thumbs up. Mrs. Dine O Mite opted for the famous Kobe Beef Short Ribs, Teriyaki Lo-Mein, Asian Vegetables, Ginger Soy Reduction. This dish belongs in the pantheon of Cleveland restaurant entrees. They're right there with Lola's beef cheek pierogies, and Parallax's chicken. Whenever you see short ribs on a menu they are typically sitting on top of potatoes. Not here. Lo-Mein noodles kick this dish upstairs into the aforementioned pantheon. For whatever reason the ginger soy reduction sticks to these noodles so well that there's as much flavor in these as there in short ribs. Awesome dish, and big too. A very healthy portion.

For dessert I had the Apple Cranberry Crostada with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It had a soft outer edge to it, and a crumbly topping. Highly recommended. She had the Pumpkin Cheesecake. It was okay. It tasted more like a mini pumpkin pie without the crust. It wasn't bad, but not nearly as good as the crostada.

Overall it was a very pleasant dinner. Aside from the pizza, which I thought was the only miss all night, the food was great. I can say that the portions were NOT on the smallish side. In fact, had I gotten the short ribs I probably would have taken half home. It had been too long since my last visit, and can say that it won't be as long between now and my next visit.


Fahrenheit
2417 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 781-8858
www.fahrenheittremont.com

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

The South Side Cafe in Tremont

The South Side Cafe
2207 W. 11th St.
Cleveland, OH 44133
(216) 937-2288
http://www.southsidecleveland.com

This week my wife's aunt came in from Fall River, Mass to visit for a couple weeks. My mother-in-law (her sister) handed down the criteria for a place to eat: Cheap, Relatively Quiet, and West Side. Entrusting my brother-in-law Mike to make the call he chose The South Side in Tremont.

I had been there once before and remember not really having a favorable opinion of the food. In his defense it was a decent choice considering the criteria. I wasn't sure how quiet it was going to be since I remembering it being a little on the loud side. However, noise was not a problem. So kudos on meeting the criteria.

We had gotten there a little late and they were ordering appetizers. I really didn't care what they ordered. So the consensus was Sesame Crusted Yellowfin Tuna, Hummus Dip, Calamari, and *gulp* Chicken and Waffles (not Chicken.........and waffles; Chicken with a Belgian Waffle).

Quite the mixed bag I'd say. The Hummus was Hummus, nothing special. The Yellowfin Tuna I didn't eat, because I don't eat tuna. The tuna of the world have enough problems without me eating them, too. Calamari was a little too greasy for my taste. As far as the Chicken and Waffles go, I manned up and tried them last time. It didn't do a whole lot for me, so I was taking a pass this time around. Sorry.

For dinner I got the Asiago Chicken Sandwich. It was described as a cheese crusted breast of bird with pickled red onions, basil pesto, red leaf, and tomato. I was intrigued by the notion of how the "crusted" part was going to work. I had never seen asiago used a crusted type cheese. I just seems to get soft, but not actually crust. If it did crust, was it going to overcook the chicken? I had to find out.

So the sandwich comes and there is no crust. It's more like a coating. Crust is probably the wrong word. In their defense the chicken was cooked properly (which I much prefer over crusty dried out chicken). I was disappointed but not surprised. I ate the sandwich. It was decent. Nothing I'd make a special trip back for.

I think this falls under the "you get what you pay for" categorey. It is dirt cheap, independent, and has a nice patio. I would drink here, but I'd eat across the street at Parallax (or any of the other numerous places in Tremont).

In the end, cheap prices aren't a motivating factor for me. I would consider this an independent version of Cheesecake Factory Cleveland style.

Dinner at Parallax

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The in-laws made it back from Florida last week and let my wife pick where she wanted to go for her birthday. After mulling her options she settled on Parallax. Zach Bruell's place is typically the restaurant du jour when my boss (Paul) comes to town. Now that I think of it, it's the only Cleveland eatery we've ever gone to with him. He absolutely loves the walleye. This is the first time in a long time that we've actually gone there without him.

All together there were five of us, so I was really looking forward to seeing a wide range of appetizers and entrees. If I were to choose any starter from the menu it would be the Spider Roll. That's some serious goodness. We got one of those, a Fresh California Roll, the Japanese Shrimp, and ..... Calamari Fritti.

We took some pictures but there was some a lot of sun coming through the front window. Three hundred other days out of the year we wouldn't have had that problem, but today we did.

Spider Roll - Tempura Soft shell crab, Avocado, cucumber, baby lettuce and smelt roe. I could eat two orders of these and be well satisfied. One of my favorites.

Fresh Crab California Roll - Snow crab, Avocado and smelt roe. I think are also quite good, but not as good as the Spider Roll. (These are on the same plate).

Japanese Shrimp My brother-in-law ordered these monsters. I had one but the stuff that's wound around the outside is a bit much for me. All in all, this was probably my least favorite, but they looked cool.

Calamari Fritti - (not pictured. Aren't you crushed?) These were decent. I wasn't really to excited about the sauces it came with, but the were okay.

Every time I've come here in the past I've typically ordered from a wide variety of fish dishes on the menu. People have commented that the Grilled Chicken Breast is a signature dish. My Mother-in-law and I ordered that. I can say first hand that mine was really good. The chicken had a beurre blanc sauce that really made the dish. I highly recommend the chicken breast! The pommes frites that came with it were also the way I like them, thinly cut. Good stuff.

The others either got Soft Shell Crab (which was on special or the Grilled Hanger Steak.

Judging by the reaction from everyone else I think they were just plus/minus on the Soft Shell Crab and the Hanger Steak. They finished their food but I don't think they were blown away.

I would also recommend the Baricelli Cheese Plate for dessert. Actually, the cheese plate is appropriate for two people to share as I was laboring to finish it. The others had an assortment of ice cream and chocolate cakes.

I would say this is probably my favorite Tremont restaurant, My in-laws are partial to Fahrenheit. While I, too, like Fahrenheit I think Parallax gives you more bang for your buck.