The Best Bites of 2025

It was another quiet year. I am not organizing big dinners with friends anymore and have been dining out alone a lot (just me and my Kindle). And I attended a couple Dinner in the Darks, which are always an adventure. But I still enjoyed several Best Bites in 2025.

I’m going to start with the appetizers, because who doesn’t appreciate a good appetizer? There were three appetizers/starters that blew me away this year: the seafood stuffed mushrooms at Blue Heron Pub in Medina, the Crabby Pringles at Funshi in Rocky River (I’m so excited for the Funshi conveyor belt sushi place that just opened in Beachwood, because I can now get this closer to home), and the mushroom tartlet at The Friars’ Table downtown. First of all, my niece works at Blue Heron Pub on college breaks, and we ordered several orders for our family get-together there in June on her recommendation. I could not stop eating them. They feature large white mushrooms that are hand stuffed with diced shrimp, crabmeat, cream cheese and scallions and then topped with Parmesan cheese and a Dijon aioli. If I lived closer I would be there all the time for these, and they would be my main meal. They are creamy and delicious. Second, I’m sensing a pattern because the Crabby Pringle features a crabmeat salad made with baked real crab meat, crab stick, fish roe, green onion, and mayonaisse on top of Pringles potato chips. Just delicious. And to round it out my third choice is another mushroom dish. The mushroom tartlets at The Friars’ Table is a puffed pastry topped with sauteed wild mushrooms. Simple yet absolutely delicious. I’ve ordered them every time I’ve dined there.

I love a good breakfast and enjoy going to the Original Pancake House when I’m in Woodmere. Their thick-cut bacon is amazing, but I finally ordered the Apple Pancake with the bacon and will probably never order anything else again. The Apple Pancake is one of their most popular dishes, and I can see why. The Apple Pancake really isn’t much like a pancake at all. It’s more a like an oven baked Dutch Baby on steroids or really, really moist bread pudding that is topped with with thin slices of fresh Granny Smith apples and pure Sinkiang cinnamon glaze. If you want to make it at home, you can find the recipe here.

I finally made it to Doink’s again after having attended a pop-up at The Wine Spot several years ago. The brick and mortar location on Waterloo churns out awesome smash burgers, but the item that blew me away and has me repeatedly coming back is the Wedge Salad. As I wrote in October, “I love a good wedge salad, and this is definitely a great wedge salad. The pickled onions are a great addition. The lettuce has always been fresh and crisp. The blue cheese dressing is divine and pairs well with the pickled onions, and there is just enough bacon to make it sing.” It is a unique side offering that pairs well with the unctiousness of the burger.

I fell in love with Ohio Pie Co pizza pies this year – specifically the Basic B. I went to Ohio Pie Co in Brunswick to try the Crabby Rangoon special pizza of the month in May and ordered a Basic B because I love spinach on pizza and it sounded good to me. Ohio Pie Co makes “Ohio Style Pizza,” which they explain is a round pie with a mid-thickness crust that is square-cut and has cheese to the edge. They finish their pizzas with a “signature Ohio Style sweet sauce,” but the Basic B is a white pizza. It features a white sauce and is topped with a cheese blend, spinach, and ricotta. Big dollops of lovely ricotta. I took them pizzas home and started eating them in the car and could not stop. I think I might have only had a few pieces of Basic B left by the time I got home. Their Thanksgiving pizza was also a fun monthly special, but I don’t have a photo of that. If you love stuffing it is a definite must try next November. In the meantime, I am happy with the Basic B and am glad they opened a location in Parma, which is closer to me than Brunswick.

I finally got a chance to try khachapuri at Georgia Bakery Tiflis on Pearl Road in Parma Heights. The name khachapuri comes from the Georgian words “khacho” (meaning cheese curds) and “puri” (meaning bread), so it translates to “cheese bread.” Tiflis offers several different khachapuri flat breads like imeruli khachapuri, penovani khachapuri, gehruli khachapuri or megruli khachapuri. My favorite is their classic adjaruli. Adjaruli khachapuri is a delicious boat-shaped Georgian cheese bread that is filled with a mixture of flavorful cheeses and herbs and topped with an egg. You mix the egg into the cheese and tear off pieces of the bread and dip it into the mixture. Khachapuri is the national dish of the country of Georgia.

I found myself repeatedly going to Geraci’s this year for their lasagna. It is an individual serving in a gratin dish (I know because I own a set of gratin dishes LOL). I know most people rave about Geraci’s pizza, but I regularly crave the lasagna. I can usually only finish half and take the other half home for later. The lasagna is an ooey gooey baked lasagna made with ricotta, mozzarella, chopped meatballs, and Geraci’s sauce. I can’t even count how many times I have had a craving this year and popped in for a fix.

One nice surprise this year was the Chopped Cheese sandwich at the CleaveLand Grill, which took over Rumi’s at 83rd and Carnegie (about 5 minutes from me). I organized a dinner with friends to have the Tikka Boti Platte (a chicken kebab with rice). Several of my friends ordered their smash burger, which I have had in the old Parma location that closed due to a fire and found to be really great. However, the surprise standout that night was the Chopped Cheese. The difference between the Chopped Cheese and the Cheesesteak is that the chopped cheese is available with the chicken, beef (hamburger) or lamb patties and the cheesesteak is sliced ribeye or chicken. One of my friends ordered it with beef on the paratha wrap, and it was outstanding. Cleaveland Grill is the exclusive HFSAA certified establishment (Halal) in Ohio, and all of the meat is seasoned very well. It may not look all that appetizing, but it blew all of us away with how tasty it was.

I was thrilled when Gunselman’s brought back the French Onion Burger for Burger Week in June. As soon as I saw it was one of the burgers I rushed right over to Fairview Park to enjoy it. It was just as good as I remembered. Probably one of my all-time favorite burgers – and that’s saying a lot since it seems this year a lot of my best bites involved burgers. Although if Gunselman’s were to bring back the Christmas Dinner (1/2 pound burger made with brisket, chuck and short rib topped with an amazing prime rib topped with horseradish aioli, rosemary au jus, Muenster cheese, argula and tomato on a weck bun – probably the best burger I’ve ever had) or the Coldwater Lobster Love (their burger topped with Cajun butter coldwater lobster meat, smoked bacon, Muenster cheese, arugula and tomato) I would be a very happy girl… (hint, hint)

Last but not least for main courses was the Salmon St. Celestine at The Friars’ Table. It is a simple preparation, but the cream sauce prepared with leeks, mushrooms and sorrel is absolutely divine. I tried a bite of my friend’s and loved it so much that I ordered it when I went back. The salmon is now more of the slab salmon you see at most restaurants. The star is the sauce though, so the shape of the salmon itself is secondary.

I also enjoyed several delicious desserts this year. Most surprising was the Shokupan (a classic Japanese toast that is a blend of sweetness and texture)—basically a croissant bowl—at You&I Tea Bar on Aurora Road in Solon (right across from the Chipotle). I met my tea group there to enjoy their range of matchas and fruit teas (with or without boba). I was a little peckish, so I ordered the Bananas Foster Croissant Bowl on a whim to go with my iced matcha lattee. It was FANTASTIC. The croissant was flaky and absolutely delicious (it is a square bowl made out of croissant dough), the bananas were fresh, and the ice cream and drizzled topping was a great pairing. If you are in or near Solon, be sure to check You&I Tea Bar and try one.

Two other desserts worth mentioning are this year’s birthday cake (the Cleveland cassata cake from Baraona’s) and the tiramisu at Chelo’s Kitchen in South Euclid. The cassata cake never disappoints and was loaded with custard and strawberries and topped with fresh whipped cream. The tiramisu that Chelo’s wife Sarah makes is probably the best tiramisu I have ever had. It is creamy and moist. Simply divine.

So that is my recap of my favorite bites this year. While I have your attention, I was wondering if I should keep doing this. I don’t get many comments, but I do have hits on my statistical analysis. It seems my most popular posts are the Stouffer’s Thrift Store and Lawson’s Chip Dip posts. Are you enjoying my restaurant recaps? Please comment and interact with me here so that I know what I am doing is worthwhile to someone. Other bloggers seem to be blowing up while I simply chug along. Should I switch to videos/reels? I prefer to be anonymous though, so that kind of goes against my vibe. I’m open to ideas.

So, what were your favorite bites in the past year? What should I try in 2026? I am looking forward to checking out Batuqui’s new location in an old church on Larchmere and am planning on checking out the Funshi conveyor belt sushi place with my niece, who has never had sushi off a conveyor belt. Plus, I would like to check out Never Say Dive on Broadview Road in Cleveland and Down the Block in Kirtland. I am open to suggestions, and who knows what the new year will hold. Here’s hoping we all have a delicious 2026.