I had already planned to go to Chelo’s Kitchen for lunch today to enjoy what I think is the best tuna melt in Cleveland. I was thrilled when a friend reached out yesterday to see if I would join him there, so it felt like fate. We met there at 1:00, and it was surprisingly empty. The breakfast and lunch rush had cleared out, and it was just us and the restaurant staff. I was greeted by everyone as I walked in, and our server came right over. I ordered the tuna melt, while my friend ordered the one piece fried fish special. He asked if they would be willing to make a pierogi appetizer from the dinner menu, and they happily agreed since I am a regular and it was empty. The pierogi app was three homemade potato & cheddar pierogi topped with grilled onions (he didn’t want the side of sour cream). He let me have one, and it was quite tasty. I also ordered a cup of Italian wedding soup (because I am not Catholic and can eat meat if I want). The Italian wedding soup was as delicious as always (no photo because it isn’t relevant here). The tuna melt was as exceptional as always. I love that Chelo heats it on the flat top before adding it to the bread – and that they add grilled onions and American and Swiss cheese, which I really feel elevates it from most tuna melts. My friend really enjoyed his fish lunch and the pierogi, and we shared a slice of their Oreo cake, which is always delicious. We paid our bills and were out of the restaurant by 2 PM, allowing them to prep for dinner, which starts at 3:30 on Wednesdays and Fridays.
After I left Chelo’s I stopped in at Harden Auto Body to get my car repaired, because I didn’t want to have my dragging wheel liner rip off on the highway when I drove to St. Barnabas in Northfield for the fish fry there. Because I was so preoccupied I failed to pre-order the lobster mac & cheese ahead of time, and it sold out online. I decided to venture down there anyway in the hopes that they had set some aside for walk-in dine-in orders, and they had! I was thrilled (but would have been fine with their Icelandic cod and delicious french fries).
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They started serving at 4:30 (apparently there were already quite a few people waiting to get in). I got there at 4:45 and was greeted by the Girl Scouts selling cookies in the lobby. I unfortunately had to explain that I still had several boxes left from last year. I got in line to order at the register and handed the woman at one of the two registers my $21 in cash for the lobster mac & cheese and hand-squeezed lemonade. I was then directed to the food line to the right and the drink/lemonade area to the left. The hand-squeezed lemonade is always a treat for me, and this one was great (if you look closely at the photo below on the left the lemon press is to the right and there are rows of fresh lemons on the surface). Luckily the food line was fairly manageable. The Scouts serving the food did a good job keeping it moving. They had steam trays of fried fish, shrimp and french fries ready to go thaat were constantly being replenished. The salmon and lobster mac & cheese dinners were prepped in the kitchen behind them. The salmon looked great, with veggies and mashed potatoes.
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My lobster mac & cheese was in a large gratinee plate and came with a nice salad of mixed spring greens and a slice of garlic bread. I grabbed my lemonade and got a seat. I enjoyed chatting with everyone around me. One woman came up from Akron to dog/cat/chicken sit for her daughter. She raved about the Heath Bar Cheesecake, saying it was the best thing there. I kind of regretted not ordering one, but didn’t need the calories. We were also greeted by the priest, who looked like he was twelve, but he was very personable and thanked us for coming. I grabbed two small to-go containers to bring half of my salad and lobster mac & cheese home. I drove home and admired the sunset on Cedar.
I hope you all enjoyed your fryday as well. I think I’m going to hit the Donauschwaben next week. Maybe I’ll see you there!
P.S. Unlike most church fish fries, since the St. Barnabas Fish Fry is run by the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and hosted by the church in the parish center it will also be offered on Good Friday.
Contact info:
Chelo’s Kitchen
4446 Mayfield Road
Cleveland, OH 44121
(216) 382-4490
St. Barnabas Catholic Church
9451 Brandywine Road (carry out is at
9200 Olde 8 Road)
Northfield, OH 44067
(330) 800-6804
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Eats 