Category: Cleveland institutions

Yours Truly Restaurants

Yours Truly is a long-standing local chain that has been in operation since 1981. In fact, they are celebrating their 45th anniversary this year. Yours Truly is an ideal choice for a great breakfast, lunch or dinner. I have been going to Yours Truly restaurants for probably 25 years. My first experience was at the Yours Truly on Rockside Road in the Cuyahoga Valley. I have visited several Yours Truly locations over the years, but I have been frequenting the one on Chagrin Boulevard since I moved to Cleveland Heights. This restaurant with a smaller footprint offers the same burgers, sandwiches & omelets as other YT locations, but tables are at a premium here. The few tables and counter stools are usually full during peak hours; carryout is a reasonable alternative. There are locations in Beachwood, Chagrin Falls, Hudson, Medina, Mentor and Solon. Your Truly in the Halle Building in the PlayhouseSquare district is also a popular choice.

They serve breakfast all day. I met a Meetup brunch group there years ago, but it is simply not on my radar for breakfast. However, I do stop in during non-peak hours for either a late lunch or early dinner (off-hours ensure I can usually get a seat quickly). The Killet Skillet (two eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns with onion, green pepper, and mixed cheese) and the Notso Omelet (three eggs, hash browns, cheese, chopped bacon and sour cream) are all very popular, but the #1 selling item is their Eggs Benedict. The Notso Fries™ are also extremely popular. Yours Truly’s menu explains: “They’re notso common. Golden brown cottage fries with melted cheese, chopped bacon and a dollop of sour cream.” They come in three different sizes. The one shown here is the small.

If you have dietary issues they are pretty accommodating. You can order a gluten-free bun or no bun at all (they bill it as a carb-conscious choice), and their salads can be customized. The cottage fries aren’t gluten-free, but I hear the hash browns are. They are known for their Fish Fryday, serving filet of cod as a dinner or sandwich. Clam chowder is the soup of the day on Fridays, and it was extremely tasty and full of clams, potatoes, etc.

They are also known for their chicken and tuna salad, and you can get them by the scoop on a salad, as a ‘Temptation’ with a hard-boiled egg, as a sandwich, as a platter with fruit, or as a Melt. As regular readers know, I am a sucker for a good tuna melt, and they do a great tuna melt here. It features two scoops of tuna with a tomato slice and topped with melted cheddar on a toasted English muffin. A tuna melt on an English muffin is in fact my preferred form of tuna melt. The tuna salad was warmed up just enough and the cheese was nicely melted.

On my most recent visits I tried to focus on a little bit of everything. I absolutely fell in love with the chicken noodle soup. The noodles are hearty, the broth is extremely well-seasoned, and it is chock full of chicken, veggies and noodles. It has become my go-to chicken soup since The Red Chimney closed after a fire.

Their burgers are made with fresh certified Angus beef, and there are nine different burgers to choose from. If you order the Deluxe it comes with coleslaw and cottage fries. The Sweet Deluxe comes with coleslaw and sweet potato fries. I love a good mushroom and Swiss burger, and the Special Delivery burger here did not disappoint. It features an 8 oz burger patty topped with Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions and a dollop of sour cream on a seared brioche bun. I ordered the cup of soup picture above, so I didn’t get it with any sides.

There are seven different chicken sandwiches to choose from. The chicken is marinated and then fire-grilled. I ordered the Buckeye Bacon Broil, which features American cheese, bacon strips, lettuce and tomato on a seared brioche bun. I was particularly struck by how huge the chicken breast patty is. It hangs far over the sides of the bun.

The Monte Cristo is also a really nice choice. It is made with their lovely cinnamony French toast and is filled with Swiss, natural fresh turkey breast and ham. It is served with a side of our homemade tango sauce, which was kind of like a honey mustard. I will probably order it again, because I loved the cinnamon French toast paired with the savory sandwich fixings and the dipping sauce. I also really enjoyed the slice of cantaloupe, which was perfectly ripe.

They also have a well-stocked bar and a vast array of beverage choices. They serve coffee (regular and flavor of the day), several espresso drinks, fresh squeezed juices like tangy and diet limeade, orange juice and grapefuit juice as well as hot chocolate and bottomless lemonade, iced tea, Arnold Palmers or fountain drinks. I enjoyed a Dirty Snowman on a particularly cold, snowy day near Christmas – gotta love a boozy hot chocolate topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The photo is blurry, but I didn’t feel blurry when I left because I stuck to just one.

Yours Truly restaurants are open Mon-Thurs from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri-Sat, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sun from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. They have longer hours in the summer. The downtown Yours Truly in the Playhouse district is a nice choice after a show at PlayhouseSquare.

Contact info:

Yours Truly
Go to the website and use the location feature to find one closest to you

The Fairview Tavern

The Fairview Tavern in Fairview Park is a hole in the wall bar that serves great food. It is located in a strip mall on Lorain Road and is open every day of the year from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. (and opens at 7 a.m. on Sundays). There is a basic menu, but the Blue Plate Specials and Chef’s Specials change weekly and a happy hour that runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They also serve breakfast on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you live nearby that might be a fun option, but since I live 40 minutes away it isn’t one for me.

There is plenty of seating in the bar area, but I have always sat at the dining area at the back of the venue. There are plenty of tables that can accommodate any number of diners.

The Friday special is their perch dinners. I met a chef friend here when we heard about their perch. They use real perch because it curled up perfectly. The perch filets are perfectly fried. They are $14 for 3 filets and $17 for 4. They come served with fries and slaw, but we were able to upgrade to pierogi, which were really well prepared. One of my friends ordered a perch sandwich on another visit. The sandwich only has 2 perch filets. It would have been perfect with 3. He ended up cutting the sub roll in half and only eating half a roll with both filets. So if you want a good perch sub ask to add another filet even if there is an additional charge.

The appetizers are also tasty. I have had the kielbasa coins, which were stellar, and another friend recently ordered the pepperoni rolls, which featured phyllo dough. He also raved about their fresh made pork rinds. So if an appetizer appeals to you by all means order it.

My friends who live on the west side and appreciate a good bargain turned me on to the place. The Blue Plate Specials are $10 and include a generous side salad. They also haven’t charged us for non-alcoholic beverages. We initially met there for the Tuesday burger and pint special (for $10 – $8 for the burger and 2 for a domestic beer). The burger patties are generous and you can get whatever burger fixings you want.

The burgers and sandwiches are served with housemade kettle chips, which are quite tasty, but the star of the show is the chip dip. I ordered a Patty Melt most recently and was quite pleased with it. I ended up taking half of it home to eat later.

The clam chowder is great – with lots of big chunks of potato, clams, celery, etc. If it’s on the menu definitely get it. I ordered a bowl along with my Patty Melt. The serving was huge. The chowder was creamy and not at all lumpy. I enjoyed every bite.

The pizzas are also quite large. I haven’t tried one yet, but my friends who did enjoyed it. One ordered the Mediterranean and the one below is mushroom and pepperoni. The mushrooms are fresh and not canned, which is always appreciated. Both had several slices but had to get boxes for later. I will probably order one the next time I go and none of the Blue Plate Specials appeal to me.

The schnitzel and spätzle were quite nice on another visit. They were supposed to come with a lemon basil sauce, but the waitress happily substituted brown gravy instead when my friends asked for the sauce on the side because it was extremely lemony on a previous visit. It was a lot of ofod for only $10 0 with two pork cutlets and lots of fresh made spätzle.

The servers have all been friendly and accommodating every time I have been there. We tip generously when we order the Blue Plate Specials because they run around a lot for a $10 tab, bring out salads and then the entrees, refilling our beverages (which they don’t charge for), etc.

It isn’t fine dining, but it is quite tasty for a hole in the wall bar. I’d go so far as to call it a diamond in the rough. And the food changes often enough that you won’t get bored. I’ve only been there for lunch, but the live music apparently can bring in the crowds. I can’t wait to try their clambake.

Contact info:

The Fairview Tavern
21867 Lorain Road
Cleveland, OH 44126
(440) 799-4200

Baraona’s Bakery

Baraona’s Bakery is a family-owned bakery in Garfield Heights on Libby Road just off Lee Road that has been serving the Cleveland area since 1949. They are known for their cakes. It is being run by the third generation. The bakery was originally named Giaimo’s and was located at 119th and Kinsman. Baraona’s bakery moved to its current location in 1970.

It is THE place to buy cassata cake or strawberry whipped cream cake. Their cassata cake is known as the best in town among those in the know. Baraona’s finished with more than 49 percent of more than 5,000 votes cast making it Cleveland.com’s People’s Choice cassata cake award winner in 2023. Baraona’s sells an average of 200 to 250 Cleveland cassata cakes a week. Cleveland cassata cake is not like Italian cassata cake. The Italian cassata cake (only available by special order) features layers of sponge cake filled with ricotta cheese, chocolate chips and maraschino cherries, and iced in whipped cream, while the Cleveland cassata cake features layers of sponge cake filled with custard, strawberries in a glaze and iced in whipped cream. The strawberry whipped cream cake does not contain custard – just strawberries and whipped cream. I prefer the cassata cake, because I love a good custard. The whipped cream frosting is light and airy, the custard filling is creamy and delicious, and the strawberries are always fresh! Baraona’s signature cassata cake was my birthday cake this year and was just as good as I remembered. You can get flowers or sprinkles on their cakes, but I just went with a plain “Happy Birthday” since I was sharing the birthday party with another friend. Everyone loved it.

They don’t usually sell the cakes by the slice, but you can always get them as a cupcake. The cassata cupcake is always a nice alternative.

They also make a variety of other mouth-watering, made-from-scratch bakery products like doughnuts, cookies, nut rolls, poppyseed rolls, cannolis, pastries, pies, cupcakes and turnovers. While I was in line to pick up my cassata cake, I chatted with several customers and ended up buying a chocolate chunk cookie and a slice of banana cake. Both were good, but that chocolate chunk cookie was one of the best I’ve had. The guy who recommended the cookies got a red velvet cookie. If you like coconut you’ll love the Almond Joy cookie. There is basically a cookie for everyone’s taste, and they are all great.

I need to try their datenut cake to see if it is as good as Dick’s Bakery in Berea, which is my ride-or-die cake. I had a Dick’s datenut cake for my high school graduation years ago and have been known to buy the datenut cupcakes. If you like Italian baked goods like 7-layer bars, pignoli (a cookie made with almond paste, granulated sugar, and egg whites), Italian spritz cookies, cannolis, etc. you will find it here. I also bought a bunch of kolachky recently. They aren’t as light and fluffy as kolachky from a Eastern European bakery like Rudy’s or Michael’s. I got lemon, cheese, apricot and raspberry and passed on the nut filling. The cheesecake, however, was absolutely heavenly. No topping needed. It was creamy and delicious just plain.

Baraona’s is open every day of the week but Sunday. Monday they are open from 7:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Tuesday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Try to pay in cash if you can.

Contact info:

Baraona’s Bakery
15842 Libby Road
Maple Heights, OH 44137
(216) 662-8383

Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen in Middlefield

Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen opened in 1987 and is owned by the Miller family. Located in Middlefield, which is apparently in the center of the fourth largest Amish community in the world, Mary Yoder’s features a full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner; a bakery; a private banquet room; and a gift shop. It’s not necessarily Cleveland, but Cleveland-adjacent and close enough to be a fun road trip. In fact, I took a spontaneous road trip out there for the dinner buffet in July. I drove out there a lot when I lived in Solon. It’s about an hour’s drive from Cleveland Heights either down South Woodland or on 422 to 700 (scenic drive over LaDue Reservoir and down some side roads past Amish homes and farms). I also love driving there in the fall to enjoy the changing leaves (I recommend the hot apple cider in the fall – see photo below). It’s definitely a tourist location and a tourist restaurant. That being said, you will see locals dining here as well as the occasional Amish or Mennonites dining here (but to be fair I saw a table of them at Cowboy Food and Drink in Bainbridge last month).

Mary Yoder’s isn’t necessarily “amazing” food (like Der Dutchman or other restaurants near Millersburg and Berlin – and not to be confused with Mrs. Yoder’s), but it is extremely comforting fare. It has its good days and bad days – for example, the dressing that I usually adore was too salty last week. But the food is hearty and hits the spot. It’s made by Amish women in their kitchen, and the buffet ($17.99 for the dinner buffet and $12.99 for the salad bar) is constantly stocked from 11:30 am to close (8 pm) Monday through Saturday (the restaurant is closed on Sundays). There is also a breakfast buffet (for $12.99), but I have only had the breakfast buffet once and there are no photos from that visit. It opens at 6 am and is available until 11 am. If you have a hankerin’ for something not on the buffet, they have an extensive menu to choose from. Some favorites include the ham, pork chops, roast turkey or roast beef or a hot roast beef or turkey sandwich. They even have a trail bologna sandwich, which is just Troyer’s Trail Bologna and Middlefield Swiss on a fresh roll. Easy enough to buy and make at home by buying the Trail Bologna from the cooler in the gift shop and grabbing some Middlefield Swiss from Rothenbuhler Cheese Chalet (formerly Middlefield Cheese), but definitely a unique offering to order there (just be sure to pull off the plastic casing before biting in – true story). There is ample seating available, and it has a banquet room for large groups. When you walk in head to the front of the building to your left.

I adore a good old-fashioned salad bar, and the salad bar contains all my favorites – a nice selection of greens, hardboiled egg, peas, beets, red onion, tomato, cucumber, etc. There is always a decent wet salad or two to choose from. I love cottage cheese, broccoli salad or macaroni salad to pair on my salad, which allows me to use less salad dressing. It is always the highlight of the meal for me, which I then follow with a couple of selections on the lunch/dinner buffet for a couple of bucks more. I got a side of cottage cheese with a to go meal the other day and was amazed by how creamy and delicious their cottage cheese is. So much so that I called to find out who they get it from.

I usually only fill up one dinner plate with my choices, but others take several trips. The buffet offerings do vary by the day, but there is usually always baked or broasted chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing and a nice vegetable on offer. Not to mention a dessert or two like a pudding. Last week one patron was sad that only the “blue jell-o” was left. But you can always order a piece of their excellent pies if you have room (or get a piece to go to enjoy later at home). I always enjoy the broasted chicken and chicken or beef noodles. The mashed potatoes are hearty and tasty. Be sure to not take too much, because there are no to go containers for the buffet (well, technically there are, but they charge $7.99 per pound).

I went home with a butterscotch pie last week and special ordered a peach pie yesterday, which I picked up at the drive through window to the right of the building. I was in Burton for a tea, and it was only a ten-minute drive to Middlefield. I worked at Baker’s Square and am not a fan of pie crust (one summer I ate a piece of French Silk a day but would scoop out the filling and throw out the crust…), but I eat the crust on Mary Yoder’s Pies. That is a huge testament to them and makes me believe the crusts are homemade using lard or butter. The pies are pricy, but worth it. The whole butterscotch pie below was $16.99 and the whole peach pie (slice on the right) was $19.99. They last a while and are worth the quality of the ingredients.

They also serve family style dinners, which are a nice option if you have a group. You can choose one, two or three of their meats, and the dinners include beverages, the salad bar, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, a vegetable and homemade rolls (which are fluffy and yeasty). Everything is served in bowls to pass around. The price is per person depending on the meat selection (kids are a much lower per person price), and there is a minimum of 15 guests. Everyone at the table has to order it.

The gift shop is full of various tchotchkes that make a nice souvenir if you are a kid or a tourist. I always enjoy buying some fresh Amish baked goods like their breads or dinner rolls, cookies or pies. One of my friends swears by their raisin puffs (a kind of cookie). Order ahead if you want to ensure your favorites are available. The only doughnuts left at 4:30 on a Tuesday were their cream sticks.

Mary Yoder’s also caters to the local Amish community and has a hitching pad for the horse and buggies to the back of the parking lot. Watch out for horse and buggies on the roads too and give them a wide berth. The Whoa stop sign as you leave always cracks me up.

Contact info:

Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen
14743 N State Avenue
Middlefield, OH 44062
(440) 632-1939

Crostata’s Pizzeria

Crostata’s is a Quagliata family restaurant. The Quagliatas have 50 years of history in the restaurant business here in Cleveland. Crostata’s is a wonderful spot to enjoy Neopolitan-style pizza. I was most recently here on a Tuesday night, and it was full, which is very telling. The staff always makes you feel welcome. It is tucked in the middle of a semi-residential area and is located at the corner of Bishop Road and Wilson Mills Road.

The wine is served in juice glasses. I have become a fan of Sangiovese wine, so started off by ordering a glass of Sangiovese. The waitress also brought me a glass of water. As Wikipedia explains, “Sangiovese’s high acidity and moderate alcohol makes it a very food-friendly wine when it comes to food and wine pairings. One of the classic pairings in Italian cuisine is tomato-based pasta and pizza sauces with a Sangiovese-based Chianti. Varietal Sangiovese or those with a smaller proportion of the powerful, full-bodied Cabernet blended in, can accentuate the flavours of relatively bland dishes like meatloaf and roast chicken. Herb seasoning such as basil, thyme and sage play off the herbal notes of the grapes.” If you haven’t tried it you might want to give it a try.

I can recommend the soups. First of all, the Italian wedding soup is a great wedding soup, and the New England clam chowder was a special that I enjoyed during my most recent visit. The clam chowder was refreshing and had a lot of clams and potato chunks. The wood-fired bread stick that comes with the soup was a nice touch.

First off, if you like arancini then you have to order the arancini here. They are the best I have had. Arancini are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Crostata’s arancini are delicious. They have meat, mozzarella, and peas in them. Truly delicious with a great tomato/basil sauce. I ate one and saved the other for lunch the next day.

The first time I was here I ordered a pasta dish. They apparently make their pasta in house. It was okay, but if you want a truly outstanding meal order one of their pizzas.  It is prepared in an authentic Italian style wood burning oven, which is a feature in the open kitchen behind the counter. The prices for the pizzas are also quite reasonable.

I’ve been here a couple times now and have tried a few of the pizzas. I love a good wood-fired Napolitano pizza. I love the char and appreciate being able to enjoy it with a knife and fork. The Quattro Stagioni has the four toppings, but they are mixed together on the pizza. The artichoke hearts were a little unwieldy to eat, but they were tender enough. I really enjoy the Margherita con Bufalo D.O.P., and the arugula-topped pizzas were really delicious as well.

Contact info:

Crostata’s Rustic Pizza
558 Bishop Road
Highland Heights, OH 44143
(440) 449-7800

Fish Fryday #4: Larder and The Berea Elks Lodge

Forgive me for posting this on Saturday, but a long chat with my best friend in Baltimore took precedence over writing about the absolutely perfect Fryday I enjoyed that day. As I noted last week, I had not enjoyed any pierogi with my fish fries yet this year, and I value a good pierogi just as much as a good fried fish. I set out to rectify this.

I had a delectable fried fish lunch at Larder Delicatessen & Bakery. Chef and owener Jeremy Umansky is a multi-year James Beard Award nominee, so I knew I was in for a good fish fry. Larder also has a vegan fish fry on offer, featuring fried tofu. The community table had some fun activities for kids (including a fun community cookbook from the kids who attend activities at Lake Erie Ink and some flash cards).

I’d like to start off by saying that I absolutely hate the parking situation in Hingetown. And this was at around 12:30 and closer to 1. I had to drive around the block before I found an available spot near Larder – and that was because I was lucky enough that someone pulled out of their spot just as I was nearby. I lived in Germany, so I am a parallel parking pro but I know a lot of people who aren’t. The street parking situation is hit or miss. However, Larder posted that there is a parking garage at @livechurchandstate that is just 20 steps from the building and is easy to access. I missed it. Consider that info filed for next time.

Larder is open from 11am-6pm Tuesday thru Saturday. They stop serving hot food at 5:45 p.m. The place was packed when I got there shortly before 1, but it was manageable. I was able to place an order for the fish fry, gave the cashier my cash (and stumped him when I gave him enough to give me a $10 bill and change), was given my number and took a seat at a larger table that seems like a community table. At least we turned it into one. The group that sat down with me after I ordered had planned a trip to the Rock Hall, but had to pivot when the power went out and it closed for the day. We talked a bit about Minneapolis and chatted about the Rock Hall and Cleveland.

Of course I ordered the Lake Erie Fish Fry, which changes every week and this week featured fresh Lake Erie fish, fresh cut French fries, a biscuit, coleslaw made from red cabbage and the most delectable sauces. Larder gets its fresh fish out of Lake Erie from Kate’s Fish Market in the West Side Market. It seems that lunch is different from the dinner fish fry. I read somewhere that one of the fish are smelts, and the size and shape of the fish tend to lead me to believe that my lunch was fried smelt. Whatever it was it was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the sauces, and the fries were tasty as well. It was the perfect size for lunch. I was tempted to try the bread pudding or one of the tasty-looking desserts, but decided against it to save room for the evening.

As I said above, I knew I needed pierogi with my dinner. My friend who is an Elk suggested the Berea Elks Lodge, because they serve pierogi as well as a wide variety of changing offers. I knew where the Lodge was, because I used to drive past it all the time growing up. The fish fry is served from 6-8 p.m. I ended up heading there later in the evening to avoid the post-work traffic from the Cleveland Clinic. I got there at about 6:15 p.m. The Lodge has a smaller parking lot, but there were several parking lots nearby to handle to overflow. I initially tried to enter through the front doors, but they were locked. Apparently we had to enter through the back door and head down a stairwell to the basement. I think I was one of the last diners to show up. They were able to make room for me at the bar. They can only serve alcohol to Elks members, but that didn’t bother me. I ordered a lemonade and then later a Shirley Temple, which I haven’t had since childhood. They had just run out of the lobster ravioli, but the nice gentleman sitting next to me gave me a couple of suggestions, specifically the scallops, the salmon (Salmon Citron Chou-Fleur) and the ahi tuna nachos.

I ended up ordering the Scallop Symphony, which featured pan-seared scallops on a bed of crispy fried creamy polenta with southwestern corn and a roasted red pepper sauce as well as a side of pierogi (available as 2, 4 or 6 pierogi) and the Walleye Bites. The scallops won’t be available next week, so I thought it sounded fun. The fish and chips are always available. The scallops were delicious. The red pepper sauce had a bit of heat to it, but I did not find it that spicy at all compared to the Indian or Thai food I usually enjoy.

The pierogi and the Walleye Bites were definitely the stars through. They were both phenomenal. The pierogi were perfect and stuffed with the requisite potato and cheese filling and served with sauteed onions and sour cream. The pierogi were absolutely bursting with filling and with flavor. The Walleye Bites were also amazing. I could have eaten both of them as a meal and been happy very happy. The scent of the onions tormented me the whole drive home. There is no better smell than sauteed onions (well, maybe sauteed onions and mushrooms…)

The gentleman next to me had ordered the scallops and his wife ordered the salmon and they shared the cabbage and noodles, which they proclaimed was also delicious. When I saw her salmon I ordered one to go to eat later this weekend. I of course tried a bite of the salmon and asparagus with the lemon pepper sauce, and it was fantastic.

I was almost afraid to share this fantastic fish fry find, but the Exalted Ruler and my server/bartender assured me it was ok (I outed myself so that I could get their permission after I had received my food). The fish fry is staffed by volunteers (the kitchen team as well as servers, bussers, dish washers, and runners), and it isn’t like a church fish fry. I didn’t want to overwhelm them, but I also don’t think I have so much clout that there will be long lines. If you are a group of eight like the one last night you might have to wait, but they definitely can handle it. So if you want a fantastic fish fry with different choices than the usual fried fish, be sure to check it out! They will be offering it every Friday until April 18th. I’d rank this up there with St. Joseph’s Parish in Avon Lake and St. Gabriel in Concord for the variety of choices. And the pierogi is right up there with St. Josaphat, Pokrova, St. Vladimir and St. Andrew. I felt very welcome there and had a wonderful time. And I can’t wait to tuck into my leftovers tonight! This was two wonderful fish fries in one day! Best one this season so far.

Contact info:

Larder Delicatessen and Bakery
1455 W 29th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 912-8203

Berea Elks Lodge #1815
<626 N. Rocky River Drive
Berea, OH 44017
(440) 234-1604

Metroparks maple syrup event: Tree to Table brunch

In addition to fish fries this time of year, I’m usually all about pancake breakfasts in March, but I’ve only been to one pancake breakfast so far this year. However, I attended a lovely brunch at the Cleveland Metroparks yesterday. I follow the Metroparks on Facebook in addition to getting their email newsletter and have attended several of their cooking classes in the past. I signed up for this event as soon as it was announced, and I’m glad I did because another attendee told me her mother wanted to go but waited four days only to find out it was sold out so she came on her own. The menu sounded amazing, and the price of $35 was good for the amount of food. They also offered vegetarian options, switching mushroom for the pork and tofu instead of the shrimp.

I had gotten a fish fry at the Emerald Necklace Marina during Covid and enjoyed it, so I knew the brunch would be a treat. I got there about 15 minutes before the 11 a.m. start time and was able to quickly check in, grab a maple-inspired cocktail using my provided drink ticket (I opted for coffee with Bailey’s and maple syrup) and grab a seat. I sat with a bunch of lovely people who made me feel welcome despite being by myself (again, I wasn’t the only one). One of the women had tried all three cocktails and stated that the Maple Syrup Mimosa was the best of the three, but they were all good. The other drink on offer was a Maple Syrup Old Fashioned, and there was a mocktail (below) as well as beer and wine to choose from.

The atmosphere was cozy on a cold and gray day. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, and there were three long tables to choose from. I chose a spot near the coffee. Priorities. There was a PowerPoint presentation running on a screen with lots of fun facts about maple syrup and maple sugaring.

To start, the servers came around with small shot glasses of sap water, which was a refreshing start. Sap water is more water-like than syrup-like, and the ‘sap water’ that is collected from maple trees is boiled down to make syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. There is a long tradition in Ohio of collecting sap that started with the Native Americans in the area. We were told that we are lucky enough to live in an area that is ideally suited for maple syruping. The snowy cold weather (and it started snowing a bit as I was driving to the event) after several days of warmer weather encourages the sap to flow from the roots to the leaves in the trees our area, and Ohio is ranked fifth in maple syrup production. We live in the 0.005% of the earth that produces sap and maple syrup (I’m fairly sure that percentage is correct, but I could be wrong – but it is a very miniscule percentage of the earth’s land). So our ‘Cleveland winters’ are good for maple syrup production.

The starters were served quickly and professionally. The food was served on small biodegradable plates (it is the Metroparks after all). We started with homemade focaccia bread with a maple cinnamon butter, quickly followed by roasted butternut squash soup with goat cheese, chili-infused maple and pepita. Both were delicious. The bread was fluffy, yet tender and was a nice delivery for the butter. The butter was so good I made sure to eat it all, and the soup was excellent. Everything in the soup was extremely well balanced, with nothing overpowering the other ingredients. The crunchy pepita were an excellent foil to the creamy soup.

We weren’t sure what to expect with three entrees listed. Would they be served together on a plate or served individually? I was most looking forward to the roasted garlic and herb pork tenderloin, which ended up being the first entree served despite being second on the menu. It did not disappoint! The “spinach, bacon and apple bread pudding” was a fantastic complement to the pork, which was perfectly cooked. It was topped with a delectable cider and maple butter sauce and crispy fried onions. I’m glad they served it first because I still had room to enjoy every single bite of it. I picked a bit at the next entrees, and one of my fellow diners asked for a box for hers. There was not a single thing on the plate I did not enjoy. I would go to a restaurant to order it!

The brussels sprouts in the Sambal and Maple Shrimp entree was my favorite ‘bite’ in the second entree served, although the plump shrimp were also really great and not too sweet. Each diner was served three perfect shrimp. The vegetables were chopped very small and roasted together. The puffed rice were also fun, it was nicely seasoned, and the entire dish as a whole was quite tasty.

The Pain Perdu with poached apple and smoked bleu cheese with pecan crumble was also quite delightful. Essentially a small square of French toast, it was perfectly prepared and well balanced. Bleu cheese can be quite overpowering, but this was the perfect amount to cut through the eggy french toast and complemented the poached apple. You could definitely taste the fennel in the maple/fennel reduction that was drizzled over the pain perdu, but it was also not overpowering and just offered a hint of fennel.

One of my tablemates had to leave to go see & Juliet at the Playhouse, which is fantastic and I was so happy that she got to see it (and it turns out about four or five of my friends were also at that show yesterday from the posts of Facebook), but she was able to enjoy the pain perdu and the crème brulee before she had to leave early to make it on time. I gave her fiancé my business card because I enjoyed talking to them so much. The Maple Crème Brulee with berry sauce and whipped cream was a delightful finish to an excellent meal. We then enjoyed a presentation on the history of maple syruping and maple syruping in the Metroparks, complete with props like collection bags and buckets, filters and a yoke that they wore to carry buckets of sap (an lots of photos of kids wearing the yoke). I would not have been surprised to see me among the photos of kids learning about maple syrup, because my mother took my sister and I to many educational events at the Metroparks when we were little and I definitely remember maple syrup production being one of them. We are so lucky to have the Metroparks for all of the educational as well as recreational activities!

Hopefully they will offer this event again, because it was fantastic. Be sure to follow the Metroparks on Facebook or get their email newsletter. And sign up as soon as you see it, because it sells out quick. All of their cooking events are also a fun time (I’ve attended a pie iron class and a pot pie class, among others), so keep an eye out for their events. They offer lots of different free and fee-based events (crafts, hikes, recreational classes, camping trips, etc.) in addition to cooking and food events, so if you haven’t checked them out be sure to do so! The Cleveland Metroparks rocks! Don’t be afraid to attend on your own, because everyone was very friendly, and we chatted the whole time about various topics. I left shortly after 1:00 to meet some girlfriends at Sangria y Tapas (I ordered a sangria and soup) and was full the entire day. The entire day! This meal (and specifically the pork tenderloin) will definitely be among my Best Bites in 2025.

And be sure to check out the Cleveland Metropark fish fries! Guests can dine-in at Big Met or get carry-out at Sleepy Hollow and Emerald Necklace Cafe. Merwin’s Wharf will also have fish fry specials every Friday. The Fish Fry takes place on Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m. through April 11 this year.

Contact info:

Emerald Necklace Marina
Rocky River Reservation
1500 Scenic Park Drive
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 226-3030 ext. 1

Prosperity Social Club

Prosperity Social Club has been part of my family’s lore since before I was born. I have heard the story about my father being sent to what was then Dempsey’s to buy the G.I.s at the shower house next door a bucket of beer and a pack of smokes. At age 8. And he proudly claims that they gave him a dime and asked for the two cents change back, and he was proud to do it. He probably knew the guys in the photo on the website. He grew up in Tremont and spent a lot of time in Lincoln Park and Merrick House on Starkweather, just a few doors down from Prosperity. It opens at 4 PM during the week, closes at midnight Monday thru Thursday and 1 AM on Friday and Saturday. They also serve brunch on Sundays, so they open at 10:30 AM and close at 10 PM. I haven’t made it there for brunch, but it’s on my list. They have late night specials from 9p to midnight.

Residing in the original 1938 barroom (the aforementioned Dempsey’s Oasis, which was in operation from 1938-2005), Prosperity Social Club is open to the public, being a social club only in a figure of speech, behavior and attitude. The bar room is cozy and eclectic, with its Art Deco influences, dark chestnut walls and vintage beer memorabilia recalling a bygone era. Plus the food is killer. It proudly declares it is “The Clevelandest Bar in Cleveland.” I enjoy sitting in the back room, but lots of people sit at the bar or at tables throughout.

I have been here several times during Lent for the fish fry. The fish and pierogi are top-notch here, so the place is always packed. Reservations are a must. It gets so busy on Fridays during Lent that they have a limited menu, serving nothing but the fish fries and pierogi and a couple other entrees. The kitchen just cranks them out. Apparently they can do the beer battered fish using hearts of palm if you are vegan, but I don’t know if that is possible during Lent. It doesn’t hurt to call to ask. I highly recommend the “Gotta Haddock” Fish Fry, because you get the fried haddock, coleslaw, potato and cheese pierogi, homemade mac n cheese, and a cup of New England clam chowder. The pierogi are pictured above with the brown caramelized onions on top. The “Big Fish” comes with the fish, coleslaw and the mac n cheese. You can always add pierogi for an upcharge. And you’ll want to have the pierogi. They are amazing.

Prosperity is also known for its Eastern European food, such as the aforementioned pierogi, one Hungarian-style stuffed cabbage, one potato pancake and cabbage and noodles with “kielbaski.” If you order the Ethnic Platter you get a little bit of everything. They serve apple-cranberry chutney and sour cream to accompany the potato pancake (and pierogi if you’d like – there are no rules). Everything is filled with flavor, particularly the cabbage and noodles, but my favorites were the stuffed cabbage and the pierogi. That said, it is very heavy and filling and features no veggies. I took half of the dinner home for lunch the next day to eat with a small salad. It heated up nicely and did not disappoint.

They have a great beer and cocktail menu. Unlike during my recent visit to The Friars’ Table (stay tuned), Prosperity serves their Belgian beer in a proper Belgian beer glass! European have specific glasses for their specific beers. Belgian beer glasses are shaped like tulips, and the wide bowl and tapered mouth develop a thick head on the beer that captures each aromatic note. I was very pleased to get a Chimay glass for my Chimay beer.

My friends also really enjoyed their meals – although one friend complained about the lack of chicken in the Chicken Paprikash (see center photo) and was given a small bowl of it in response. My vegetarian friend really enjoyed her Harvest Salad (with tofu – see the photo on the right) and was pleased by how low her bill was. The photo on the left is the Stuffed Cabbage.

One of my friends ordered the housemade potato chips and French onion dip for the table to share, and they were a big hit. If you like crispy chips be sure to try them.

You don’t get much more old-school Cleveland than Prosperity Social Club. If you haven’t been there yet, be sure to check them out.

Contact info:

Prosperity Social Club
1109 Starkweather Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 937-1938

Gus’s Diner 185

Gus’s Diner 185 is a clean and cozy little diner on E. 185th Street in Cleveland that offers a diverse menu of diner favorites and classic American comfort food. My friend who lives down the street from it highly recommends the Eggs Benedict, and I have heard good things about their gyros. However, I often prefer sticking to favorites like breakfasts with rye toast or a club sandwich on my first few visits. They are open every day from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Breakfast is served all day, and they also have lunch and dinner options.

Since I always go at weird hours (non-rush hours) I have managed to get a spot in front of the diner on the street each time I’ve gone, but there is a parking lot behind and next to the diner with a walkway. When you walk in, you are greeted and told to sit anywhere you would like. I chose a booth close to where I was standing, and it was quite cozy. You can adjust the table in the booth as needed, and the cushion was comfortable and sturdy. The service is great and quite fast, and the servers are friendly and attentive. The server gives you a menu and a specials menu. The specials link on the website hasn’t been updated since I’ve been keeping an eye on it. They offer two soups every day, which are on the specials menu. The main menu itself is extensive, and there are lots of good choices for both breakfast and lunch.

The first time I went I ordered the croissant breakfast sandwich because I was craving one after enjoying a perfect croissant breakfast sandwich at Goldie’s in Strongsville. The croissant sandwich at Gus’s was also quite good and very generous. It came with a side of hash browns, which I needed to add salt and pepper to (probably kept under seasoned so that diners can doctor it up as they need/want). The croissant sandwich is made with scrambled eggs, cheese and your choice of bacon, sausage or ham (there is an upcharge for sausage patties or turkey sausage patties). I went with ham to replicate the one at Goldie’s. You can also get a breakfast sandwich on an English muffin or toast.

I also ordered a slice of French toast on the side. It had a really nice flavor to it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice hit of sweet along with the savory.

I enjoyed the Everything Omelet with hash browns and rye toast on another visit, because I was in the mood for spinach, mushrooms, and ham. The rye toast was perfect. I added some grape and strawberry jam from the packets on the table and enjoyed it. The Everything Omelet is made with 4 eggs, onions, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, ham, bacon, sausage, gyro meat, corned beef, Swiss and American cheese. It was a lot, but it was really tasty. And I just realized there wasn’t any spinach in it. I’ll be sure to order the spinach and feta omelet next time. I took about a quarter of it home for later because I couldn’t finish it.

I also ordered a Turkey Club sandwich to go. It was properly cut into triangles with large toothpicks to hold the three layers together. It came with a side of fries, which were decent. I forgot to ask for a side of Thousand Island, but I was able to whip some up at home. I slathered my club sandwich in Thousand Island, as you can see in the picture. I also really enjoyed the pickle. It was fresh and had a nice crunch to it.

Gus’s is a classic neighborhood diner. It serves a good breakfast that hits the spot, and the coffee is good and plentiful (and served in the old-fashioned brown diner coffee cups, which is always comforting). There are definitely better spots out there if you’re feeling at all fancy, but it does the job and does it well. This is a real mom-and-pop place and quite utilitarian and affordable. I will definitely go back in the future. The fried chicken and gyros sound and look good. There are plenty of choices to keep me busy.

Contact info:

Gus’s Diner 185
797 E 185th Street
Cleveland, OH 44119
(216) 481-8781

One final clambake

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” I thought I was done, but one of my friends contacted me earlier last week and invited me to join her and some of my friends at one last clambake this past Sunday- this time at Gunselman’s. Gunselman’s Tavern in Fairview Park is always a favorite, and their clambake is probably the one clambake I have attended the most. The clambakes sell out quickly and early, so I assumed it wasn’t going to be an option this year. But luckily my friends had bought tickets for several of them. The clambakes are dine-in only and require the purchase of a clambake to enter the establishment. This year the weather was allowing outdoor seating as well as indoor. The Browns game made it almost impossible to hear each other this year.

I usually get the steak bake at Gunselman’s, but my friends had bought chicken bakes because the steak bakes were sold out when they got their tickets. They start serving clam broth and clam chowder at 1 PM and serve the clambakes at 2 PM. I got there at 12:45 and joined my friend inside. I debated if I wanted a beer or a glass of wine, but ended up ordering a cocktail that intrigued me – a Chocolate Peanut Butter Old Fashioned, which features Bird Dog Peanut Butter Whiskey, orange bitters, chocolate bitters and simple syrup. I really loved it and might have to buy some peanut butter whiskey and chocolate bitters so I can make them at home. I would probably add a splash of half and half, but even without it was a delightfully inventive cocktail. I’m also intrigued by the Autumn Aperol Spritz that features sparkling wine, Aperol and apple cider.

We were given a cup of steaming broth as we sat, and once the others in our party arrived we were served a bowl of Irish Kevin’s delicious New England clam chowder. The chowder had chunks of redskin potatoes and was nicely seasoned with a lot of thyme, which gave it a unique and delicious flavor.

The clams were great – tender and not gritty. According to the Gunselman’s website, “the clams are sourced from Joe at Lobster Brothers in Westlake, who has a source in Narragansett Bay, RI, which is home to the finest clams in this part of the world.” The server happily got me a side of barbecue sauce for my roast chicken, and I happily enjoyed the clams, corn, the leg portion of my half chicken, the roll, and a couple bites of the redskin and sweet potatoes. I got a box for the breast portion of my chicken and the redskin and sweet potatoes.

Several of us also ordered cheesecake – mostly to go. One of the servers proudly told us she had made blueberry and cherry cheesecake. When I ordered I told the server that I didn’t care which one she brought and to just bring me a slice of the one they had more of left. She brought me a slice of the blueberry cheesecake, and it was really nice (I had a bite of mine from the carryout box).

We made sure to ask whether the tickets included a gratuity and it did not. I hope the other diners were aware of this and tipped accordingly. I added the price of my preordered ticket to my drink and cheesecake tab and tipped our server for the full price. It would be nice if they would make it clear to everyone at some point, because I hope the servers didn’t walk out of the set dining hours with less than they would normally make – especially since it cut into the Browns “customers” (they didn’t serve brunch today in preparation and the kitchen opened at 3 PM as we were leaving).

So that was my final clambake of the 2024 Clambake Season, and I’m glad it was a good one. I love this quirky Cleveland tradition.

Contact info:

Gunselman’s Tavern
21490 Lorain Road
Fairview Park, OH 44126
(440) 331-5719