Au Jus is Cleveland’s first exclusive Chicago-style Italian Beef restaurant. It is tucked away in a nondescript strip mall on Broadview Road in Parma. Its grand opening was on February 8, 2023, so recently celebrated its first anniversary. Up until recently you really had to search for an Italian Beef sandwich. Ferrera’s serves one, but it sells out quickly and they close pretty early. It takes me a while to get out of the house some days, so I usually miss the window. And Ferrara’s is cash only.
Au Jus prides itself on the quality of its products, and it shows. They use top-round beef and slow roast hundreds of pounds of it every day. I have been following the journey online from the planning stages to the opening and finally got a chance to try the restaurant out recently. It is primarily a carry-out business. There are a couple of seats, but it’s not exactly conducive to relaxing. The kitchen is also spotless and every corner is visible. You can watch the workers create your food as you wait. It is a welcoming environment, and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.
The Italian Beef is available in regular or large, and you can choose between Swiss or Provolone cheese. You can also add mild, spicy or mixed giardiniera and hot peppers if you like it spicy. Some customers choose to upgrade with double the meat, but save your money. The portions are very big and priced excellent for the quality and quantity of the food. I can probably only eat a regular (and probably only half in one sitting), so I went for the regular Italian Beef with Provolone cheese on my first visit. I forgot to specify mild giardiniera. The beef is shaved thin and piled on a soft hoagie bun. I got the au jus on the side since I wasn’t going to be eating it right away and “dunked” would have made it a soggy mess. The sandwich was delicious. I liked it better than Ferrera’s. You can tell the beef is high quality. I was in the mood for onion rings as well, and they did not disappoint! The onion rings here are battered, not breaded.
I absolutely adore their Italian sausage sub. It comes on a soft bun and is topped with a thin layer of tomato sauce and smothered in onions, peppers and melted provolone cheese. The sausage itself is tossed on the grill in the kitchen before topping it with all that goodness. I was only going to eat half but could not stop eating it because I was enjoying it so much.
If you can’t decide between the Italian beef or the Italian sausage sandwich and like it spicy you can order the Spicy Trifecta, which features Italian beef and cheese, a spicy Italian sausage, hot peppers, and spicy gardiniera. The sausage is split and laid atop the Italian beef and then topped with the hot peppers and gardiniera. It’s too hot for me to handle, but if you are in the mood for spicy it features the best of both worlds.
I also ordered the mushroom and Swiss sandwich. It is one of their pressed sandwiches. The owner warned me that there was no meat because other customers have not been aware of that, but I was. I, however, was not aware that it was more of a vegetarian sandwich and less of a mushroom and Swiss sandwich. I was really looking forward to a mostly mushroom and Swiss sandwich, but it was overpowered by the peppers and onions in my opinion. If I order it again I will tell them to hold the peppers and onions or maybe hold the peppers and go light on the onions. But that is my personal preference. This is a great choice if you are a vegetarian and love roasted veggies.
The owner had also asked my local Facebook food group for their input on the perfect Sicilian sub when he was planning the menu before opening the restaurant. As a result, the pressed Sicilian sandwich includes ham, pepperoni, salami, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, diced mixed olives, capers, Italian dressing and lemon basil aioli. That’s a lot of meat! It kind of makes me think of a muffaletta but with lettuce, tomato and onion. It’s one of Au Jus’ best sellers.
Au Jus is open noon-9:30 pm Monday-Saturday. The owners are there on Sundays doing catering, so they don’t mind accepting orders. The owners are friendly and really dedicated and passionate about their products. This is one of those restaurants that I really like to support and root for. Be sure to check them out!
Contact info:
Au Jus 5875 Broadview Road, Unit B Parma, OH 44134 (216) 795-5063
I’m trying something different with the photos today since they aren’t displaying properly on my end (pushing to the left and overlapping the text). I promise I am working on finding a solution!
No fried fish for me this Friday! Despite my best intentions a fish fry was not in the cards for me. Work came in the way, and I had too much on my desk to be able to clear an hour or two for a fish fry. Luckily I had made plans with a friend for lunch, and we were meeting at Ice or Rice Cafe to introduce her to the place (she lived in Japan for many years, so she needed to try it). So I still had fish, but it was raw instead of fried.
I was greeted like a regular by the owner and waited for my friend to arrive. We ordered at the counter and sat there chatting as our food was being prepared. I noticed they had several new onigiri on the menu – a crab salad and a raw tuna, so I definitely had to order them. I love onigiri, and Ice or Rice is the only place that serves them here in Cleveland. They are a must for me. Onigiri (おにぎり) are Japanese rice balls made of steamed rice that you compress into a triangular, ball, or cylinder shape and are usually wrapped in a nori seaweed sheet. The filling here is very generous – with lots of crab salad and a really nice chunk of tuna. They are individually packaged to keep them fresh, and they were still slightly warm when I enjoyed them. They were both delicious.
I was tempted to order the Seared Salmon roll again, but I wanted to try something new. I ordered a Rainbow Roll, because I am trying to eat through the sushi menu. The roll was smaller than most Rainbow Rolls in a sushi restaurant (just six cuts instead of eight), but it suited me just fine because I ordered enough for two meals as it was. A Rainbow Roll is a roll that is filled with imitation crab, cucumber, and avocado, and topped with salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. Their Rainbow Roll was fresh and tightly wrapped, draped with thin slices of raw salmon, tuna and avocado. They don’t have yellowtail on the menu so they use what they have, but I didn’t miss it. It was a tasty roll. I had half (3 pieces) in the restaurant and put the lid on the other half to take home for later. It was just as good later as a snack/light dinner instead of the fish fry.
If you want something tasty and hot (but not fried), order the shrimp okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a teppan grill and topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, powdered seaweed, scallion and bonito flakes. My friend ordered the pork belly okonomiyaki and loved it. She used to make it all the time for herself and her kids, and she really liked this version. She lamented it didn’t have pickled ginger, but she really enjoyed the flavor of the cabbage, scallions, batter, pork belly, and toppings. I’ve had the shrimp version before and loved it. I enjoyed the bite she shared with me.
I ordered the lychee kumquat sparkling lemonade, which was really refreshing and had a couple full-size lychees and kumquat zest and juice in it. My friend very much enjoyed her iced boba matcha. I ordered one for myself to go and even though I don’t like boba all that much I enjoyed the flavor of the brown sugar boba they use.
If you haven’t given Ice or Rice Cafe a try, be sure to check them out! I’m looking forward to next Friday when I will be enjoying a tuna melt at Chelo’s for lunch and a fish fry! Have a great week.
It’s almost Pączki time. Celebrate at the Winery this year from noon-6 pm on January 28th, but you can stock up on pączki at the Bakery until February 13th this year.
My favorite pączki are made at Michael Angelo’s Bakery. The Bakery has been open for 20 years and is located on Broadview Road in Broadview Heights Ohio just to the north of Wallings Road. The same owners opened Michael Angelo’s Winery during the pandemic. It is located down the street on the corner of Boston Road and Broadview Road in Richfield, and I have heard nothing but good things about it. I haven’t made it there yet though.
As I’ve said, Michael Angelo’s Bakery (not to be confused with Michaelangelo’s (the restaurant in Little Italy) or Michael Angelo’s Winery) is my go-to bakery for pączki (pronounced poonch-kee). For those who don’t know, pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast and sometimes milk in the month or two before Lent (but definitely on both Fat Tuesday and Fat Thursday). They feature a variety of fruit and cream fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. Michael Angelo’s pączki are generously stuffed with filling and are light and airy while also being heavy in weight. It is a must-visit for me every pączki season. I go during the day during the week, but you have to get there early before they run out (or you will be stuck with prune) – or order them ahead of time. The lines are long during pączki season – especially on the weekends. If they run out of a certain flavor and they still have the pastries they will run and fill them for you. But once they are out they are out.
Their bread is also very good. They make bread for St. Sava. It looks like it would have a firm crust, but it is really quite soft. It is a tasty bread, but my favorite is their Buttercrust bread. It is their Italian bread topped with butter and baked in a loaf pan. It’s so good! Pictured here to the left is the Country Grain. It reminds me a lot of European bread – a harder crust with a soft center.
They also sell lots of packaged coffee, boxed or bagged cookies and bagged chocolate-covered treats like Oreos or pretzel rods. Their chocolate chip and oatmeal cranberry cookies are great. I had a friend buy them for one of our tea events. The last time I went I also bought a bag of their peanut butter cookies with mini Reese’s pieces, and they were moist and delicious. I’ve also heard good things about the macaroons but can’t attest to them because I’m not a fan. They do look pretty though!
They are also known for their special order cakes. The cakes I have seen people pick up here are spectacular, from kid’s birthday cakes to special events like bachelorette parties or baptisms. They also have smaller individual cakes in a display case to the left of the store.
The only thing I haven’t enjoyed here are the ham and cheese croissants. They are too doughy, and the ham is not good. Croissants should be light and flaky. These are not.
They also sell coffee and tea, which is helpful when you need a jolt of caffeine or a soothing hot tea.
2023 has been a really bad year work-wise, but I have focused on my health and have lost approximately 50 pounds so far. As a result I really cut back on going out and took a lot of my meals home with me as leftovers (I’m taking a semaglutide, which quiets the “food noise” and makes me feel satiated). And yet I still had to eat and have quite a few Best Bites I remember enjoying this year.
Speaking of health, I scheduled a colonoscopy on Valentine’s Day (and the day after the Super Bowl). No food gluttony for me 😦 ! I prepped with pho broth (I do not recommend it – my blood pressure was almost too high for the procedure). I know the first food after a colonoscopy tastes wonderful, but I treated myself to a special Tres Leches with Dulce de Leche pancakes and fruit platter from Sabor Miami Cafe and still think back on it fondly. The Tres Leches pancakes with Fruity Pebbles and fresh fruit (including a kiwi that looked like Baby Yoda) made me so happy! It was so good that I barely used the Dulce de Leche dip. Even though I was starving it took me a couple days to eat it all. And good news – I only had a couple of small, non-cancerous polyps and got a clean bill of health.
Probably the Bite that sticks out the most for me is the baked Verlasso salmon with the dill chardonnay sauce at St. Joseph Parish’s fish fry in Avon Lake. That sauce was amazing. I literally dreamt about it for days. I loved the fish fry so much that I went back on St. Patrick’s Day to try some of the other standouts like their baked cod in mango chutney and the tomato bisque (which they generously shared the recipe for with me). Who knew a tomato bisque would be so exquisite (even if it isn’t very photogenic)? I might have to hit St. Joseph’s a couple of times this fish fry season as well.
This was also the year that I appreciated good corned beef. Yes, the corned beef at St. Joseph’s was really good (I shared it with a friend I brought with me), but the moment when my hate of corned beef turned to appreciation was when I tasted the Reuben at Express Deli. They make their own corned beef on the premises, so I guess I like lean corned beef. Express Deli is a family-owned deli that is making some of the best sandwiches in Cleveland. Express Deli was listed #41 in Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in America in 2018. The deli offers a tasting tour of their three most popular sandwiches – the turkey, the pastrami, and the Reuben – to first-time visitors. I liked the Reuben so much I ordered it instead of the sandwich I planned to order. Their Reuben features corned beef, Swiss and kraut with a mix of their delicious Thousand Island dressing and garlic mayo – and they aren’t skimpy with it! The sauce and melted cheese made every bite super creamy, and the sauerkraut was not sour at all.
I also learned to appreciate angel hair pasta this year. I have disliked it for a long time because I didn’t like the consistency of small thin noodles, but the Angel Hair Basilico at Geraci’s changed my mind. I was in the mood for pasta instead of my usual Honey Pie pizza. My waitress passionately suggested the angel hair instead of spaghetti, so I ordered the Angel Hair Balsamico, which is angel hair pasta, artichoke hearts, diced fresh tomato and basil in a butter and white wine sauce. I added chicken for protein (the semaglutide diet plan suggests eating lean protein at every meal). The angel hair was coated in the butter and wine sauce, giving it an amazing buttery taste that just popped. I have ordered it again and loved it just as much. But definitely add chicken. It’s so good!
Fish fries and pancake breakfasts are an integral part of Cleveland winters and make me look forward to the weekend. I was very judicious when choosing my fish fries this year and enjoyed some fish fries more than others. Every fish fry (apart from one) had something that made it stand out – be it the pierogi at St. Vladimir, scalloped potatoes at St. Joseph Byzantine Church, or flaky, moist Icelandic cod, crab cakes, fries (!!) and fresh squeezed lemonade at St. Barnabas in Northfield.
My favorite pancake breakfast this year was the Bainbridge Civic Club‘s pancake breakfast at Kenston High School (it’s always the first three Sundays in March from 8 am to 1 pm – great for a late riser like me!). They serve killer pancakes and real maple syrup. All orders include sausage, coffee, milk, maple syrup, applesauce, orange juice and unlimited pancakes and/or French toast. If you choose the Combo you get 2 pancakes and a French toast and sausage. I came near the end, so I got 3 pancakes (buttermilk, blueberry and buckwheat) and a French toast with my combo. The sausage patties are ground and made fresh each week by Mazzulo’s Market and were generous and perfectly cooked.
I have been a huge fan of Mama Catena’s since 2019, and my meals there in 2023 also did not disappoint – from spur-of-the-moment meals alone to celebrating my birthday with the Sunday Sauce and cannoli cake (always a delight!). But the “aha” for me this year was the meat sauce. I usually order the Sunday Sauce or Roselli sauce, but I had a hankering for fettucini and decided to order it with the meat sauce. The meat sauce was absolutely delicious. I paired it with the citrus and olive salad and enjoyed the leftovers the next day.
Tita Flora’s opened in Independence on Brecksville Road . The restaurant serves Filipino staples like chicken and pork adobo (braised in soy sauce, vinegar, onions, garlic, and pepper), crispy vegetable or pork lumpia (similar to fried spring rolls) and other delicious things. Out of all the dishes I tried I enjoyed the pork adobo, Ginataang Gulay, and Turon the most. Turon is a deep-fried banana rolled in a spring roll wrapper served with ice cream. It was perfectly fried with no residual grease and absolutely delicious. The Ginataang Gulay is a creamy coconut milk stew made with squash and green beans. You can add shrimp (and probably chicken) to it for protein. All of the dinners come with white rice, but you can upgrade to garlic fried rice for an extra $2. I thought the garlic fried rice was good, but it was a little overpowering when paired with some of the more flavor-forward items.
My friends and I have been enjoying lunches at the local vocational centers recently (the post is coming soon). The menu changes every week on the limited days they are open to the public. Every meal has been lovely, but the Chicken Rockefeller at Polaris’s Savour and the Surf and Turf at Lorain County Joint Vocational School’s Buckeye Room have been the standouts for me. I’m not usually a fan of hollandaise sauce, but I love a great Rockefeller. The chicken topped with spinach and hollandaise and served over the rice and sauted zucchini was absolutely delicious. You can order what you want off the menu (from a couple appetizer choices, three mains and two desserts) at Savour, and Buckeye Room serves a prix fixe four-course and drink. You must make a reservation to enjoy the goodness. These kids are making great food.
Pho Sunshine opened in February 2023 and has quickly become a favorite. It serves a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes, from spring and summer rolls to broken rice and cold or stir-fried rice noodles, ramen, phos and soups, and a half dozen choices of banh mi, including a vegetarian version. The bahn mi is one of my Best Bites. My banh mi of choice is the Bánh Mì Thịt Nướng, which is chock-full of grilled pork, pickled veggies and a deliciously light sauce. The pho and honeydew smoothie aren’t too shabby either.
Ice or Rice Cafe fills the Japanese food void in Asiatown (and dabbles in Hawaiian too). I fell in love with Onigiri in San Francisco, so I was excited to hear they would be featured on the menu. No other restaurant in town offers them. Onigiri are a “triangle rice ball sandwiching a layer of seasoned tuna / salmon / pork sung / pickled plum and wrapped with seaweed with an optinal drizzle of sweet soy sauce or spicy sriracha.” I very much enjoyed all four onigiri (tuna, salmon, pork sung and picled plum) on my first visit, but my favorite was the tuna. They also serve spam musubi and shrimp okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese cabbage pancake made of shrimp, pork belly or carrots (billed as the veggie okonomiyaki) and topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, powdered seaweed, scallion and bonito flakes. The onigiri and okonomiyaki are among my Best Bites this year. The okonomiyaki is a flavor bomb!
Milk n Tea in Parma is serving some great bubble teas and bubble waffles. They have the usual flavors as well as several others as well as brown sugar boba. You can adjust the sweetness level, which is something I really appreciate. They also sell reusable boba cups! A friend and I ordered a regular bubble waffle and it was okay. However, one of my friends ordered the Chocolate Chip Bubble Waffle, and it was delicious. I could not stop stealing bites of it.
And last but not least, the Salmon Gratin at Restaurant Europa in Pepper Pike deserves kudos. It was a special on the night I was there with a group. I didn’t order it, but it looked so good that I ordered it to go. It was a mixture of risotto, salmon, spinach and cheese. The photo is of just half of it reheated, because it smelled so good that I immediately dug in. It was outstanding and probably one of the best things I have eaten all year.
Emperor’s Palace and sushi at Issho Ni deserve honorable mention. I will miss Emperor’s Palace’s dim sum and ginger scallion chicken (it closed recently and I will miss it so much!). And the sushi at Issho Ni is always a delight.
I first learned about Matteo’s from a feature on New Day Cleveland. It sounded and looked delicious, and the fact that it was located in my hometown (Olmsted Falls) made me want to check it out. I’ve been there several times and have always really enjoyed my meals there. It is located on Columbia Road/Route 252 near the intersection with Bagley Road in Grand Pacific Junction (in the strip of business just south of the railroad tracks).
Grand Pacific Junction was developed after my family moved away. It was a bunch of ramshackle buildings and a strip mall that housed my first bank (National City) and Kucklick’s Furniture back in my day. It is a very popular, fully restored Victorian shopping village with more than 30 shops, restaurants and services. Restaurants in Matteo’s location have struggled over the years, but Matteo’s has been here since 2015 and does a booming business because the food is so good. Reservations are highly recommended if you want a table.
Matteo’s main entrance is in a storefront facing the parking lot and several of the standalone buildings such as Clementine’s, although they also built a storefront facing Columbia Road. But that door is locked and you need to use the side entrance (door on the right as you look at it – the first door you come to from the street). There is ample parking behind the buildings and on the side street.
The quality of the food is good, and everything is apparently housemade. There is a good selection of vegetarian, meat and seafood dishes. The menus is fairly extensive but not too extensive or overly ambitious. The food is tasty, and the prices are reasonable. In fact, the prices about the same or a little less than places like Carrabba’s and Macaroni Grille, but it’s always nice to support an independent. Many of the entrees are available in half portions (and still come with a side AND a dinner salad)l It isn’t advertised, but if you ask they can accommodate you. You can easily eat a half portion and STILL have leftovers.
The service was friendly and very attentive. The servers and runners are well-trained and efficient, and it is obvious that management cares. The chef is definitely underrated. He is dishing out great food in generous portions – all beautifully presented and perfectly cooked.
On my first visit I met friends from high school for lunch. It was pre-pandemic. They are only open for dinner during the week (except Mondays) from 4 to 9 (and 8 on Sunday and 10 on Friday and Saturday), but are advertising that lunch is “coming soon.”
They have no trouble serving large parties. Every time I’ve been here with a group we have received prompt and attentive service. Each time we were blown away by the food – especially the pizza. It is a simple flatbread-like pizza and absolutely delicious. I really liked the pillowy yet crunchy crust that you can sink your teeth into.
As for dinner service, the bread is warm and has a nice crust. It is served with both butter and a dipping oil of vinegar and lots of herbs and roasted heirloom tomatoes. The butter was not rock hard, which I really liked. I like being able to choose between dipping oil or butter and totally appreciate being able to spread the butter I am given.
The Italian wedding soup contains generously sized meatballs, shredded chicken, escarole and napa cabbage, pastina and chunks of carrots and celery. It was tasty. I think it is one of the better Italian wedding soups in town.
The Zucchini Frites are a great starter – crispy, seasoned, and delicious – and the basil aoli is divine. Our dining group polished it off by sharing it up and down the table, and everyone really enjoyed it.
A friend and I recently arrived at 4:30 on a Friday night without a reservation (I figured 4:30 would be early and more accommodating) and were given a table in the bar. It quickly filled up, and there was a small line at the door for a table when we left at around 6. We were given beverages and then ordered from the bartender/server.
The runners who brought out our food were efficient, but we did have to ask someone for the coffee my friend ordered after she had had her tiramisu for a while. Also, when I asked about the Monte Cristo after-dinner drink the bartender admitted she had been working there since March (it was November) and had never made one. Obviously I didn’t order it, but it is really nice to be able to order a drink because the town was dry when I was growing up and residents had to cross the town line to drink alcohol in an establishment. My friend enjoyed her cocktail, which she said had lots of bourbon, and a glass of Chianti with dinner. I had a pumpkin martini, which was perfectly prepared.
The cavatelli and gnocchi and other pastas appear to be housemade. Two of my friends ordered the gnocchi and thoroughly enjoyed it. I ordered the lasagna, since they are well-known for their “5-layer lasagna.” It is made with sheets of fresh pasta and mini meatballs and smothered in their house red sauce and provolone cheese and baked. It was definitely one of the better lasagnas out there.
The eggplant parm is absolutely amazing. Three big, thick slices of tender breaded eggplant topped with a tomato slice and cheese and served with a side of pasta. My friend ordered it and gave me her extra slice to take home with my leftovers, and it reheated well and was absolutely delicious.
I asked our waitress which entree she recommended – the Chicken Matteo or the Shrimp Matteo – and she quickly answered “Chicken Matteo.” The Chicken Matteo is their signature dish and is billed as breaded chicken with “romano cheese, tomatoes, asparagus, lobster sherry sauce, served with mashed potatoes.” The mashed potatoes were smooth and creamy, and the two chicken cutlets were perfectly cooked. The lobster sherry sauce didn’t seem very “lobstery” or sherry-heavy. It just seemed like a cream sauce. It was very good and reheated well.
The dessert options were tempting, and included limoncello mascarpone cake, cannolis, and cassata cake. My friend ordered the tiramisu, and it was creamy and absolutely delicious – and large enough to share.
If you enjoy delicious Italian food and are on the west side, be sure to check Matteo’s out!
I appreciate and regularly crave good seafood. Unfortunately that is not easy to satisfy in northeast Ohio. Red Lobster is okay in a pinch, but I prefer an independent to ensure that the quality is there. My favorite seafood restaurant in the Cleveland area used to be The Lobster Trap on Ravenna Road in Twinsburg. They used to serve a special featuring two whole lobsters, green beans and rice. My parents and I were regulars when I lived near there, but unfortunately they soon went out of business. The Lobster Pot in Willoughby is a good successor. Apparently it used to be in South Euclid and moved to Willoughby Hills in 2017. It is located near the intersection of SOM Center and Chardon Roads.
The restaurant is loosely modeled after a traditional New England-style lobster house. The space is decorated with nautical artifacts like wooden buoys and floats, fishing nets, and the namesake lobster pots, and there is a wooden dory suspended above the dining room. There are also tanks filled with live lobsters and fish. There is a bar with a casual atmosphere as well as a dining room that features white tableclothes and cloth napkins. The patio is also tucked next to the building away from the street and is a great place to relax when the weather is nice
The first time I went there I was craving lobster roll. They have an entree with two lobster rolls on the menu. The rolls were authentic, and the lobster was succullent, with big chunks of tail and claw meat. They were not too heavy on the mayo and had a perfectly buttery taste.
The lobster bisque was ok, but (unlike the lobster rolls) did not contain a lot of lobster. It had a nice creaminess to it. They serve Manhatten clam chowder on the regular menu, but I prefer New England chowder. The New England clam chowder accompanied the clambake. It was a decent chowder. It’s not the worst, but also not the best I’ve had. A decent chowder is still a plus in my book.
The salad was very fresh and was a nice mesculun mix with a couple slices of cucumber, a couple cherry tomatoes and slivers of carrot. I also enjoyed the warm bread was served before meal.
The oysters are super fresh. You can order them raw, baked or as oysters Rockefeller. There is a minimum three per order. I have had them raw and Rockefeller. I have thoroughly enjoyed them every time.
The Lobster and Shrimp Newburg is made with fresh lobster meat and shrimp sautéed with shallots, celery, mushroom, tomatoes, garlic, finished with a lobster cognac cream sauce with a choice of one side. It can be served over rice or pasta. I chose pasta, and it was quite filling. It reheated nicely the next day. I really enjoyed it, despite being made with angel hair pasta, which is not my favorite.
This is a great place to enjoy the clambake or fish fry. I have enjoyed the clambake both inside in the dining room and outside on the patio. I love pairing it with a chardonnay. The clambake comes with a dozen clams, drawn butter, corn on the cob, red skin potatoes and cole slaw. Since I’m a sucker for lobster I usually add the whole lobster. Everything is always perfectly cooked and super tasty. I even enjoy the red skin potatoes.
I also really enjoy the Admiral’s Platter, which features a half pound of snow crab, one lobster til, two jumbo scampi and is served with your choice of two sides. It usually scratches my itch for fresh seafood. If you are craving fried fish, the Fisherman’s Platter is for you. It comes with breaded and fried haddock, shrimp, hush puppies, fries and coleslaw.
Overall, it is a good representation of a seafood restaurant. The parking is convenient. They have great happy hour (Haffey Hour) specials at the bar on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4-6 pm. The Happy Hour menu features a nice assortment of dishes (calamari, firecracker shrimp, fish or shrimp tacos, shrimp bruschetta, and mussels plus a few non-seafood options) at $7 each, oysters are $2 each and shrimp are $1 each. They also offer discounts on drinks and wine. The food and service are consistently great. You are greeted warmly when you walk in and I’ve never had a bad server. They have always been attentive and responsive to my needs.
Contact info:
The Lobster Pot 2749 Som Center Road Willoughby Hills, OH 44094 (440) 569-1634
Spudnuts are not just any doughnut. Spudnuts are fresh, delicious donuts made from potato flour. Berea’s Spudnut Donuts became one of the first franchised dealers in the nation in 1949 and is one of the few original Spudnut shops remaining. The parent company no longer exists, but there are only a few independent franchise shops left – with two in Ohio. One in Berea, and one in Mentor.
Bob and Al Pelton were looking for a recipe that would make a better doughnut and started experimenting with potato dough in 1946 at their doughnut shop in Salt Lake City, Utah. They came up with a combination of ingredients that included mashed Idaho potatoes, mountain grown wheat flours and spices from all over the world. The result was a consistently light, fluffy, tender potato doughnut with a unique delicate flavor.
I grew up one town over from Berea, and everyone always raved about Spudnuts. I’m sure I ate my share of spudnuts back in the day. To this day it remains my favorite doughnut. The location moved three times in the past – from Front Street to Riverside Drive and now to Prospect Road.
The Spudnuts in Berea always has a throughly stocked counter. Whenever I have gone to the one in Mentor (no matter what time it is) it is always fairly bare with a serious lack of fun doughnuts. I prefer a yeast doughnut, but even Spudnuts cake doughnuts are moist and delicious – unlike most other cake doughnuts (no coffee for dunking needed here!).
I love a good glazed doughnut, but the custard and jelly filled doughnuts are also a treat. I bought a huge box for my girlfriends in St. Patrick’s Day in March and they were a huge hit. They loved the sprinkles.
I made an exception to my rule of no repeat visits on St. Patrick’s Day. Most fish fries were closed, even though a higher up apparently gave the church parishioners a dispensation in order to eat their corned beef and cabbage on a usually meatless Friday. St. Joseph’s in Avon Lake was serving corned beef and cabbage, and I wanted to try the baked cod to complete my tasting of their available items.
I took a friend with me, and it was so nice knowing how things work. We drove around the church and parked close to the entrance shortly before it opened. We had preordered a perch meal for my friend, the baked cod for me and we shared the corned beef and cabbage. I found my friends from the last visit and joined them once again. My friend and I got into line to grab a tray from the soup station and then headed to the food in front of the stage. Since we were splitting a second meal I didn’t order any additional soup.
The first stop was for the corned beef and cabbage – and we were handed an individual homemade Irish soda bread that looked like a fancy cupcake. I really wish I had taken a photo of the soda bread. I found it quite tasty, but my friend was not a fan. More for me! The corned beef and cabbage was exceptional. We got 3 large slices of corned beef (I grabbed the leaner of the three), and it came with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. The carrots were a wee bit underdone, but altogether they tasted great. My friend particularly enjoyed the potatoes and raved about the corned beef. She also enjoyed the green beans once she put salt on them.
The cod was also quite lovely. I ordered a sweet potato to go with it. It was a delicious, low-fat meal. The mango chutney seems to be a doctored Curried Mango Grille Sauce/mango chutney from Stonewall Farms. It was really lovely. The cod as perfectly cooked and flaky, and the chutney really helped it shine (although it was tasty without the chutney as well). I didn’t need any butter or anything on the sweet potato – it was that good.
My friend loved her perch dinner as well and took the rest of the corned beef home for lunch at work. I had also ordered a side of pierogi for her, since she is from cincinnati and hadn’t had a pierogi before she met me. She prefers them a little firmer, but that meant I got her pierogi to take home with my corned beef leftovers. We left with happy, full bellies.
Another successful Friday fish fry visit! I kind of regretted not ordering the salmon, but I’ve been told I can have the recipe for the dill-chardonnay sauce so I can recreate the magic at home. The only criticism I have is that they really need to work on their lemonade and ice tea game (I ordered canned soda last time)! Even though they are free with the meal I expect more than weak watered down beverage. They were just bad. The pitcher of iced water on the table was tastier!
Contact info:
St. Joseph’s Parish 32929 Lake Road Avon Lake Fry time: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Fridays Feb. 24 to March 31 (no fish fry on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday).
It was a dark and stormy night. Well, maybe not so dark shortly before 4 o’clock, but it was definitely stormy. Nothing like a cold, wet rainy night in northeast Ohio to really make you want to stay in. I had decided to hit St. Charles Borromeo at 4 for its take-out and hoped they had tents set up for their take-out workers. St. Francis de Sales it was not! Turns out I would have had to get out of my car and hobble across the street and enter the church to pick up my meal. If you are having people come in to pick up meals you might as well serve them as dine-in. Not in that weather! Nope! Maybe I’ll fit it in this year again, but probably not.
The Great Hall behind the church: right: front entrance, left: rear entrance with lots of parking
I then pivoted to fish fry #2 on my plan of attack for tonight, St. Vladimir Orthodox Church. I had planned to dine in there after picking up my take-out from St. Charles. St. Vladimir is an impressive church edifice on State Road. I pulled into the parking lot between the church and the Grand Hall, which is where the fish fry was being held, right at 4:30. Their serving time is 4:30 to 7:00. With no available spots in front, I drove around to the back and managed to get a good spot close to the back door. The line was not that long for 4:30, but there was a delay when two gentlemen backed up the line getting multiple to-go orders filled. They must have had six containers each on their trays, and the entire serving table stood there empty and waiting for them to make their way down from the fish. The folks at St. Vladimir need to organize take-out orders better.
Once it was my turn, I grabbed a tray and utensils and quickly debated whether to grab a to-go container or plate. Knowing I can’t eat a full fish fry meal, I opted for the to-go container. Good decision! They had six dinners to choose from – baked salmon (1 pc), baked cod (1 pc), perch/Captain Gene’s dinner (3 pc), fried white fish (2 pc), fried shrimp (6 pc) and potato pierogi (6 pc). And they also have a kid’s dinner with a slice of pizza, french fries and applesauce. I chose the Lake Erie Perch and, as per Captain Gene’s Special Dinner’s description, was given three meager pieces of perch. When she saw the tiny portion one of the servers gave me a fourth piece, explaining they are allowed some discretion if they feel the pieces are small. I appreciated it. One of my fellow diners suggested I get the cod next time, so keep that in mind.
All dinners include cole slaw or applesauce, a dinner roll, coffee and a cookie – and your choice of one side. Choices included french fries, 2 pierogi, 1 potato pancake, redskin potatoes, steamed vegetables, cabbage and noodles, and mac n cheese. I chose the pierogi and am so glad I did! St. Vladimir’s pierogi are a solid A+! Pillowy softness drenched in butter and onions. The pierogi were just like I like them. I almost ventured back into the line just to get a pierogi dinner to go. I may come back and do that later in the season. People, these pierogi give St. Josaphat’s pierogi, which I have always considered the gold standard that my grandma used to make, a run for their money! The perch itself was good, but not as tasty as St. Joseph’s. Since the pieces were small they were a little tough and not much “meat” to them. The cole slaw was tasty, and the dinner roll was nice and soft.
I also added on a clam chowder. It was a decent clam chowder, but could have used a little more salt and pepper. I would have added some if it were on the table. It had nice soft chunks of potato and clam in it and a nice creamy consistency. I also added a piece of cake even though a chocolate chip cookie came with the meal. It was really sweet, but I like the combination of chocolate and cherries so I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a real Black Forest Cake, but real ones are time-consuming to make, so I understand why they did what they did. Pies and cakes were on offer for $3. My meal came to $28 – $20 for the perch dinner, $5 for the chowder, and $3 for the dessert. They accept credit cards, but I paid cash.
There was apparently a bar down the hall, but I wasn’t walking that great today. In fact, I almost faceplanted while leaving because my foot was asleep and I lost my footing. So I stuck with the free water within walking distance and grabbed a tartar sauce for good measure.
They also have a table of merch if you want to show that you “Stand with Ukraine.” They are also taking donations and having a fundraiser soon. I got to use some Russian, talked with some nice folks, and thoroughly enjoyed my meal. As I left the building to promptly get soaked and drive home in the deluge, I couldn’t help thinking that I was glad I had ventured out tonight.
P.S. Fresh pyrohy (pierogi) are available on Fridays during Lent between from 9:00 am and 12:00 pm (until April 7). Frozen pyrohy may be purchased every week on Tuesday and Friday from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm. Please call the church office at (440) 886-3223 to check availability. Email orders (potatopyrohy@yahoo.com) for fresh pyrohys are available only during the Christmas and Easter season. Email and phone orders for Lent will begin on February 18 and will go until April 5. Please call (440) 886-3252 for phone orders.
Express Deli is a family-owned deli that is making some of the best sandwiches in Cleveland. Express Deli was listed #41 in Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in America in 2018. According to a Yelper, the parents Pierre and Maha bought the place 24 years ago when they moved from Lebanon in 1998, it was more like a Mini Mart. (Note: that explains why I haven’t heard of them until now – I moved to the east side in 1992). They thought it would be a good idea to serve good deli food at the Mini Mart, and have turned it into a true deli over time as it rose in popularity. Located on Smith Road just off I-480 (W. 130th exit) and just past Brookpark Road in Brook Park, it is tucked away at the end of a small, nondescript strip mall. When you walk in you are greeted like a family friend. Head to the back – that’s where the magic happens.
Make sure to tell them if it is your first time. They offer a tasting tour of their three most popular sandwiches – the turkey, the pastrami, and the Reuben. Each features a special sauce. The turkey is served with the house dressing (a delicious herbed oil), the pastrami has a garlic mayo and is topped with a thin pickle slice, and the Reuben is a small bite of Reuben (corned beef, Swiss and kraut) with a mix of their delicious Thousand Island dressing and garlic mayo. They started the samplers about 7 years ago to have people try and love what they ended up purchasing, and maybe get them to try something they normally wouldn’t.
If you are a regular reader, you know I’m not a fan of corned beef. It is a rare place that can make me change my mind. Well, I tried the Reuben bite and liked it so much I actually ordered the Reuben on my first visit! They make their own corned beef on the premises, so maybe I’m just a fan of their corned beef. I guess I like lean corned beef. The sauce and melted cheese made every bite super creamy, and the sauerkraut was not sour at all. I can see why everyone loves this and it’s one of the top sellers.
I had originally decided to order the chicken cordon bleu wrap until I tried the Reuben, so that was my choice on my next visit. Maybe it was an off day, maybe the Reuben has ruined me for all other sandwiches, because I thought it was just okay. The cordon bleu sandwich has a lot of fans. It’s made with chicken, ham, Swiss, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and a honey mustard sauce. I don’t see any tomato, but it still wouldn’t have magically saved it. I’m not a huge fan of wraps; I find the texture of the wrap or pita too dry, which then detracts from the fillings. I’ll try it on a hoagie next time, because it is one of my favorite food pairings.
One of their other most popular sandwiches is the Beirut Chicken. I asked what bread he might recommend for it instead of a pita wrap, but he really urge me to get the pita wrap since there was so much going on in the sandwich. It is made with marinated & sautéed chicken breasts, garlic mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, thin sliced pickles, cole slaw, and sriracha. I was initially only going to eat a few bites and then eat the Reuben I had also ordered, but I soon found that I had eaten half of the sandwich and was ready to finish it. The sandwich was that good! The flavors really complemented each other, and each bite was a delight. I set aside the sandwich to eat half of my Reuben and was pleased that the wrap only got soggy in one spot when I went to eat it later. And for the record the Reuben was perfect the next day – no sogginess to speak of despite all the sauces on it.
I also ordered the chicken noodle soup. Since I wasn’t eating it right away I was okay with it not being heated up. Once I was ready to eat it at home, it heated up nicely, and the noodles were a total treat. The homemade broth will definitely cure what ails you!
They have a huge cooler filled with soft drinks, iced teas, flavored water, hard seltzers, and beer as well as a wall of crunchy snacks (chips, pretzels) to go with your sandwich. I also grabbed a bag of Zappo’s Voodoo Chips and Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips (my two favorite chips) and a bottle of Mountain Dew and a Crush Grape. The chips and beverages are very well-curated. The homemade cookies are also soft and delicious.
The macaroni salad was just okay. Davis Bakery has ruined me for all other macaroni salads. The pasta salad was really tasty. I highly recommend it. It looks like the black bits are olives, but they are beans. I still didn’t hate it. The seafood salad was great. I ate it straight out of the container with a fork, but it was especially good on a toasted slice of croissant bread. I also enjoyed the pickle. I do plan to try the potato salad too. But come here for the sandwiches.
I must be spoiled from all my years in Germany, because the Braunschweiger sandwich just didn’t do it for me. I prefer a softer meat spread. It’s also possible that it was too much of a good thing. I got there close to closing time, and she used up the Braunschweiger on my sandwich. It was very generous, but I prefer thin slices over huge hunks. I won’t get this again, but there are plenty of other delicious-sounding sandwiches to choose from.
There are no tables. It’s takeout only. Eat in your car if you must.
Open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 and Saturday from 11 to 4.
Contact info:
Express Deli 5185 Smith Road Brook Park, OH 44142 (216) 267-7878
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Eats 