Category: Ethnic stores/restaurants

Chelo’s Kitchen

Chelo’s Kitchen is a family-owned traditional American breakfast and lunch diner that also serves authentic Latin cuisine (Chelo is from Uruguay). It is located in the strip mall at the corner of Mayfield and South Green Roads. It is open until 2:00 pm everyday but Monday and then from 2:30 to 7 pm Wednesday and Friday nights, where they serve several specials. You need to order the specials through their Facebook page or by email (Cheloskitchencle(AT)gmail.com) in order to ensure they are available at the time you specify, because the specials are limited and can quickly sell out. They do A LOT of take-out, so you need to specify the time and whether it is for dine-in or take-out. The food is made from scratch, the service is attentive, and the family atmosphere permeates the place. The servers recognize me as a regular now and remember whether I like cream and sugar with my coffee or sugar and Sweet and Low with my iced tea.

There is plenty of parking in the lots behind the strip mall, and there is a rear entrance. You can also enter from the front, but it is easier to enter from the back because the hallway funnels to the cash register/host seating area and dining room. The kitchen is at the front of the restaurant and the dishwashing area is at the rear. The bathrooms are in the very rear where you enter but before a second door.

The menu is simple and straight-forward, and they are very accommodating to special requests. On my last visit a guy a few tables over ordered an eggs benedict and subbed white toast for the English muffin, changed the meat and asked for hollandaise on the side. The server laughingly told him it wasn’t eggs benedict anymore but a breakfast sandwich, but happily took his order.

Chelo’s wife Sarah runs the dining room and is a whirling dervish, taking orders, clearing tables, running food and cashing customers out. You can use a credit card, but if you intend to add a tip you need to tell them as you hand them your receipt so they can run it. There is a sign on the plexiglass, but it is easy to overlook so be forewarned. She also makes the amazing desserts. More on them below.

I had been meaning to check them out for a while (I had eaten here when it was Kalie’s), but a post on All Things Food in Cleveland advertising their tuna melt at the start of the Lent season prompted me to check it out. Their tuna melt is in my opinion the best in Cleveland (with Old Brooklyn Cheese Company’s tuna melt a close second). It features grilled onions and American and Swiss cheese. The tuna is briefly grilled on the flat top, and the rye bread is perfectly grilled as well. You can sub out the bread, but rye on a tuna melt is my favorite. I ordered the New England clam chowder, which was the soup of the day during Lent. It was creamy and delicious with nice chunks of clams and potato.

My friend K. had also seen the post and called me, and we decided to check them out on the following Friday. It’s a funny story. She had been thinking/obsessing about the tuna melt all week and was stunned to see a patty melt placed in front of her and insisted she had ordered a tuna melt. I promptly informed her that she had indeed ordered a patty melt. I think the fact that they talked about onion rings as her side (Chelo made them specially for her because they weren’t available that day) threw off her thinking. I gave her a quarter of my tuna melt and got a quarter of her patty melt in exchange. I love a good patty melt and usually order it as one of the first things I try at a new place. It was an excellent patty melt, perfectly grilled and the burger cooked to her specification (which honestly should have clued her in, but again… she was thinking of the onion rings).

I came back here several Friday evenings to try some of the delicious looking specials (they post the specials a day or two ahead of time on their Facebook page). The fish special features cod and is not just served during Lent. It is available every Friday night, and you can order it fried or baked. It comes with two sides. It’s a lot of food for $13.99.

The first special I tried was a half slab of ribs. It came with a grilled half ear of corn and one side. The ribs were perfectly and easily separated from the bone. To be honest, it has triggered a craving for ribs in me. I ate half and took the other half home for the next day. I of course devoured the small ear of corn, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I then decided to share my find with some friends and started organizing a Friday night dinner, to be followed by frozen drinks at DaqFac. The next Friday most of them couldn’t make it, but I came here with a friend. I preordered the prime rib special, which she enjoyed, and ordered one of the fish fries for myself. My friend is allergic to potatoes, so she was somewhat limited in her choice of sides. She ordered the steamed vegetables and cole slaw, which she enjoyed. She was surprised that it only cost $19.99 because it was a lot of food and cooked nicely.

My fish fry came with two large pieces of fried fish and two sides. I chose the mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables and enjoyed it a lot. That said, the table next to us ordered a baked fish special and rice, and it looked delicious as well. I’ll definitely order rice the next time I have a choice of sides. The half I took home reheated nicely in my air fryer (fish) and microwave (mashed potatoes and veggies) the next day.

I also tried the beef and ham and cheese empanadas. They were nicely fried and not greasy at all. The filling was plentiful. The beef empanadas are stuffed with ground beef, peppers, onion, hard-boiled egg, cheese, and Spanish olives, while the ham and cheese empanadas have diced ham and American cheese. They are good and filling.

The soups are also homemade. The beef and barley soup had huge slices of beef in it, and the creamy chicken and gnocchi was chock-full of fluffy gnocchi and hunks of chicken.

We finally got together for dinner the next Friday at 5:30. They tend to get busiest at 6 and do a lot of takeout. Two of my friends ordered the fish fries, one ordered the surf and turf (6 oz strip steak & blackened shrimp – served medium rare as specified), and one ordered a club sandwich off the menu. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. I ordered the tuna melt because it was on special (unadvertised) and a club sandwich to go because I had intended to order one that night.

The club sandwich was really good. It is properly cut in quarters and secured by toothpicks. It is so fresh that the filling can easily slide out from the bread, so be sure to keep those toothpicks in and nibble around them. I learned to slather my club sandwich with thousand island dressing when I worked at Bakers Square a million years ago and always order a side of dressing. No need here! They slather the club with the thousand island dressing inside the sandwich, and it is quite generous and adds to the tastiness.

We went for drinks afterwards at DaqFac (short for Daquiri Factory), which serves delicious and potent frozen drinks and opens at 4 pm. We enjoyed our beverages on the patio along Mayfield. Yes it was a little loud, but the weather was great and the beverages were tasty. I had the Hennessy colada and my friends enjoyed their drinks as well. They use fresh juice and lots of alcohol. It was a quick walk just across South Green next to the CVS, so keep that in mind!

Chelo’s also makes some great breakfasts. I am not a morning person, so the likelihood of me making it there early is pretty low. That said, I wanted to try their breakfasts. Being located across from Eat at Joe’s makes it a good alternative if Eat at Joe’s is packed. The breakfasts are just as good and affordable. I ordered a skillet the first time I ate breakfast here. I was tempted to get the Chelo Skillet, which is a bed of home fries topped with peppers, onions, sausage links, two eggs and mixed cheese and drizzled with a spicy mayo and scallions, but had a craving for sausage gravy that day. So I ordered the Southern Skillet instead. It also features home fries topped with peppers and onions, but it also contains mushrooms and is topped with a two egg omelet with your choice of meat, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy. Because there are a lot of older customers I highly recommend using salt and pepper to season your food to your taste. It was pretty bland without the added salt and pepper. But if you are on a low-salt diet you’ll be okay.

I smelled the pancakes when I was there (a kid ordered one the next table over and they had a strawberry shortcake pancake on special that first morning), so I ordered a pancake combo and added blueberries on my next visit. The combo comes with eggs and your choice of meat. I went with scrambled and bacon. Again, add salt and pepper to the eggs. The bacon was nicely cooked but a little softer and chewier than I prefer. If you also prefer bacon crispy, be sure to order them cooked crispy. The pancakes were a delight, fluffy and delicious, and I was glad I ordered the blueberries, which were plentiful (I flipped the pancake over to show the added blueberries).

Also worth mentioning is that they have little containers of flavored creamer if you ask for it.

I promised to talk about the desserts. I had heard good things about the tiramisu and got one to go on one visit. It did not disappoint! It was great. My friend ordered the Alfajor for dessert, which is a South American cookie that is somewhat like shortbread with a dulce de leche filling and rimmed with coconut. I had kept seeing it on the Facebook page, but am usually too full to order dessert. She gave me a bite of her cookie, and it was absolutely divine. It was moister than I expected and the combination of dulce de leche and coconut was great. I can’t wait to try the Chaja, which is a vanilla cake with layers of Dulce de Leche, meringue, whipped cream, and peaches and looks absolutely divine. I’m keeping an eye out for it.

Contact info:

Chelo’s Kitchen
4446 Mayfield Road
Cleveland, OH 44121
Cheloskitchencle@gmail.com
(216) 382-4490

Dim sum at Li Wah

As most of my long-time readers know, one of my favorite meals is going out for dim sum with friends. Li Wah has been one of my favorite places because it has the dim sum served from carts. Dim sum (otherwise referred to as Yum Cha) is considered to be brunch in the Far East. Dim sum is usually served for breakfast and lunch (10am – 3pm at Li Wah). The baked, fried, or steamed goods usually come with 3 or 4 pieces to an order. Dishes are expected to be shared. Asians consider the concept of ”that plate is yours  and this plate is mine” as impolite. Sharing is essential to developing a better relationship with your friends and family.  Dim sum carts roll past every table throughout the restaurant, and guests can pick from different dim sum items as the carts roll by. You generally just point at what you want and/or nod if you recognize the name of the item. Shumai are always a good place to start – or the black bean spare ribs.

Tea is considered to be an essential part of the dim sum experience. The Cha in Yum Cha stands for tea. Tea is automatically served when you are seated, and you are expected to serve your dining companions before serving yourself. Li Wah carries 6 different blends of  tea. The tea charge varies from .80 cents per person to 1.00 per person  depending upon tea selection. I like the basic oolong they serve, but you can also order jasmine tea or chrysanthemum tea (which are made with actual chrysanthemum blossoms. When your tea pot is  empty or needs to be refreshed, simply leave the teapot lid open. They also serve beer, wine, various cocktails, sodas, lemonade with popping pearls, milk tea, bubble tea and smoothies. But if you are splitting the bill in the end it might be a good idea to order them separately.

My favorite dim sum items at Li Wah are primarily dumplings as well as the steamed buns with Peking duck, the shrimp, Har Gow and tofu skin rolls. Chinese people have been raised on a diet of predominately pork, poultry (duck and chicken), and seafood. Many Asians are  lactose intolerant due to the lack of cows in the  region. Roast duck, Peking duck, and roast pig are  wonderful meats to try, but they tend to be expensive additions. Likewise, the Chinese vegetables such as Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan), bok choy, pea pod leaves (dao mu), or Bittermelon (Foo Gaw) can be expensive additions as well and take longer to make so order them early if you want some greens with your dumplings. I can also recommend the cucumber salad.

The weekends tend to be the busiest, and they tend to roll out some of the better items later in the day like the mussels or salt baked prawns. The more adventurous eaters might want to try the chicken feet or the tripe or jellyfish, but I tend to order the less adventurous things when I am dining out with friends who are new to dim sum. It helps that I am not the biggest fan either.

If you have a larger group it is a good idea to make sure you get a table with a rotating glass lazy susan. It’s a good idea to have one of the more experienced diners be in charge of ordering and in charge of the bill, because otherwise chaos ensues. As the items are set on the table, the server will mark it on your bill depending on the price of the item.

Most dim sum are served as three or four to a plate. It’s also good to order enough so each person either gets their own bite-sized item or cut the item in half with a chopstick or fork. Knives are considered bad energy, a cutting force, in feng shui. It is not proper to eat a Chinese meal with a knife and fork. If you can’t handle chopsticks, use a spoon and a fork. Li Wah can also give you children’s chopsticks, which are held together with a rubber band. The Chinese don’t cut food on the table – although we have been brazen in the past and asked for a knife. If you want something like the turnip cakes cut up into smaller servings the server will be happy to do so for you. But using a knife to cut up the dim sum really is frowned upon.

The desserts are sweeter dim sum as shown above. It’s a good idea to order one or two items like the mango pudding, egg tarts or my favorite egg custard bun for a sweet ending. Even the sesame balls (the round balls coated with sesame seeds in the center of the photo on the right) can be considered sweeter because the red bean paste filling is sweeter than some of the savory items.

Once everyone is full (which is easy to do) you ask one of the servers to total up your bill and then you divide it by however many diners were at the table. It is best to make sure everyone has enough cash to cover themselves and then just hand the cash to the server. Too many credit cards can throw the server off their game. I have an app that calculates the tip (Li Wah is now tacking on an automatic gratuity of 18% though, so be sure to doublecheck whether the tip is already included) and divides the total by the number of diners. Most of the time we end up paying $20-25 a person (unless a roast meat or vegetable dish has been ordered, then it is more like $30). Unfortunately the price per item has risen in the last few years, and the quality has become hit or miss. Nevertheless, it’s still a fun experience that everyone should have at least once, and it’s a great way to share a meal with friends.

Contact info:

Li Wah
2999 Payne Avenue, Suite 102
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 696-6556

Mama Maria’s Ukrainian Kitchen

One of the first Ukrainian-owned businesses in Parma, a Cleveland suburb that’s been home to Ukrainian immigrants for the better part of a century, Mama Maria’s has been a local staple for about half that time. It serves excellent and authentic Eastern European food. It was run by Mama Maria until her son George took it over. George also State Meats next door. State Meats is my favorite place to buy Ukrainian delicacies like fresh and smoked kielbasa (try the double-smoked – wow), frozen pierogi, German potato salad (oil-based with bacon) and Russian salad (Olyvie, which resembles a potato salad, with the addition of other cooked vegetables like peas and carrots and meat.). You can obviously get that here too, but the pierogi are freshly made and hot. Mama Maria’s is known for its homemade jumbo pierogi, cabbage rolls, pelmeni (smaller Russian pierogi with a meat filling), German schnitzel, chenaky (stewed pork, potatoes, and carrots), and savory borscht (beet soup with pork and vegetables). They make authentic Ukrainian food that you cannot really find anywhere else.

I absolutely adore their kielbasa sandwich on a soft bun. The kielbasa is fresh and steamed to perfection. It is perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of garlic. You can get it with or without sauerkraut. I’ve been known just to stop and get a kielbasa sandwich when I get a craving for it. It always makes me think of my Ukrainian grandmother, who always served fresh kielbasa on Easter. And she lived in the area, so it probably came from State Meats – just like Mama Maria’s does. We now serve fresh kielbasa at Easter and Thanksgiving in her memory.

I met several girlfriends here for a quick dinner before an event at the public library on Snow Road. They loved their meals, which ranged from the schnitzel with a pierogi to stuffed cabbage and pierogi. The schnitzel was perfectly fried. It doesn’t seem to be hand-pounded like I am used to in Austria and Germany. They tend to be huge and hang over the plate, but this was a very serviceable option. The stuffed cabbage was also tasty and the pierogi were little pillows of potatoey heaven.

It’s a really small space with not a lot of seating. Our table was tight and had to be moved to accommodate us. They do most of their business as carryout. It is open from 9:30 am to 6 pm every day but Sunday. Mama Maria’s doesn’t even have a website and its Yelp listing is sparse. It’s definitely a Cleveland secret that shouldn’t be.

Contact info:

Mama Marie’s Ukrainian Kitchen
5342 State Road
Cleveland, OH 44134
(216) 661-2225</p

Fish Fry #2 2024: Ice or Rice Cafe

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.

Contact info:

Ice or Rice Cafe
3713 Payne Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 539-9092

Fish Fry #1 2024: Mom’s Pierogies

The Lenten season is upon us, and in Cleveland that means the start of Fish Fry Season. Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine’s Day this year. I knew there was no way I was going to even try to dine in at a restaurant on one of the busiest days in the restaurant industry, and most of the churches don’t offer fish fries on Ash Wednesday since they have church services. So I decided to do carryout, and Mom’s Pierogies posted their carryout fish fry on my Facebook group so it was fate. I placed my order online and headed out to pick it up before most people even got off work. My order was ready when I arrived, and I was greeted by the friendly staff and given my order. I handed the employee who retrieved my order a couple bucks for a tip and went happily on my way. It smelled divine despite all of the containers (and the can of Pepsi) being wrapped in plastic wrap. And the fish was wrapped in foil inside the styrofoam (you can see it peeking out of the side below). No chance of leakage here!

After following Waze’s convoluted driving directions and driving on streets I’ve never driven on before, I located Mom’s Pierogies on Memphis Avenue. Getting home was also fairly convoluted and took me through a speed trap in Linndale and had me going south on I-71 before exiting and reentering to go north again, but all in all the drive was about 20-25 minutes there and back. It is located next to Aldo’s and very close to the Memphis Kiddie Park, which I had been to once with my nieces when they were younger. So I *kind of* recognized the area, but most of the streets were fairly new to me despite being a lifelong Clevelander and living on the west side for 23 years.

There is no seating available. It is strictly carryout. Mom’s Pierogies started in the early 2000s when the owner Janet Vedda was inspired to use her mother’s recipes to make and sell pierogies to family and friends during the holidays. She then branched out to selling pierogi at farmer’s markets and supplying many restaurants. Mom’s Pierogies opened as a brick-and-mortar shop in August 2018. They sell frozen pierogi in bulk – a dozen or 1/2 dozen at a time. The menu boasts around 20 flavors, and they always keep about a dozen of the traditional, most popular flavors on hand. I think I need their breakfast pierogi (featuring sausage, egg and cheddar cheese) in my life and freezer. They make the pierogi by hand every day.

I am so glad I chose Mom’s Pierogies, which I had never heard of before their post (social media works, folks!). In my opinion, an excellent fish fry always includes pierogi (plural: pierogi or pierogies or pierogis, but I prefer without an s – it’s the language geek in me). For the uninitiated, pierogi are small, semi-circular ‘dumplings’ made of dough and filled with a range of ingredients, which can be sweet, savory or spicy. They are a staple in Cleveland, and some would argue that these little pockets of deliciousness are also the national dish of Northeast Ohio. Mom’s Pierogies specializes in gourmet Polish pierogies, and you should not sleep on these pierogies. Although they were smaller and not as filled as I prefer the dough was so delightfully soft and almost melted in my mouth. These were stellar pierogies! Anyway, I digress… We are here for the fish fry.

Every single component of this meal was outstanding – there was not a miss in the styrofoam container. Even the little details like the tartar sauce, carmelized onions and butter, and garlic sour cream (!!!!) were outstanding. The fish is a 9 oz. pollock. It was lightly breaded and perfectly fried. The fish itself was moist and flaky and simply delectable. The housemade tartar sauce was an excellent addition, but it was even tasty without it. I ordered an extra pierogi for $2 and should have ordered more. These pierogi were so good! Most pierogi dough is a little thick and chewy. These were thinner and soft and pillowy – and had a tasty potato filling. The pierogi have been handed down from the owner’s Polish mother’s recipe. I can see why. These are the softest pierogi I have ever enjoyed. The garlic sour cream was ethereally good. You can choose between regular or garlic. Get the garlic! It isn’t overpowering and just gilds the lily. I wished I had ordered more extra pierogi, because I only had one left for lunch the next day and you can eat them in a couple bites even if you are savoring them. I would drive all the way back for a pierogi dinner, but they also serve stuffed cabbage that looks right up my alley, so…

I also added a side of cucumber salad, because it never hurts to have a veggies to balance the fried food. LOL The cucumbers are small and sliced razor thin. They are drenched in a sour cream and onion dressing that I really enjoyed. This was a quality cucumber salad. It is also available in 1 and 2 lb portions. Even cole slaw was a revelation. I definitely detected a heavier pepper presence, which I enjoyed, but there is an herb mix that I can’t quite place (dill? thyme?). The mayo-based cole slaw was delicious, and I enjoyed every forkful of it as well.

All in all, this was an excellent start to Fish Fry Season 2024. I’ve already planned which churches and restaurants I want to try this season (St Mary’s Church in Collinwood, Gesu Catholic (catered by EDWINS), St. Agnes / Our Lady of Fatima and Voodoo Brewery are new to the list and I plan to revisit St. Joseph’s Parish and St. Vladimir as well as Benedictine High School to give them another chance after a less than stellar review pre-COVID). I have lunch plans at Ice or Rice Cafe tomorrow, so we’ll see if I am hungry at fish fry time. There may or may not be two reviews tomorrow. So see you tomorrow (or Saturday whenever I get the post written)!

They also sell t-shirts if anyone wants to get me one 🙂 The photo above is just one of the choices on their website (follow the link). Mom’s Pierogies has apparently been in business since 2003. They are closed on Sunday and Monday and open from 11-7 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11-5 on Thursday and 11-4 on Saturday. Be sure to check them out – and don’t forget the garlic sour cream!!!

Contact info:

Mom’s Pierogies
8467 Memphis Avenue
Brooklyn, OH 44144
(216) 309-1570

Ice or Rice Cafe

Ice or Rice Cafe attempts to fill the Japanese food void in Asiatown (and dabbles in Hawaiian too). I have been looking forward to the opening of Ice or Rice Cafe for a while. I first got to know Andy and Jessie at the AsianTown Night Markets and their YouTube videos. I even attended a ramen class that Andy taught. Andy and Jessie were the co-founders of the early Ice or Rice, but are not the owners of Ice or Rice Cafe. Andy’s brother is. Knowing that the Cafe is run by Andy’s brother, who is a health inspector, makes me confident that the restaurant and kitchen will always be immaculately clean and the food top-notch.

There’s no parking lot here, so you have to park on the street out front, which usually isn’t too busy, or on the side street. The inside is new and renovated. Everything is made to order, which means it’s fresh. You can watch the cold dishes being made right at the counter, while frying and grilling seems to occur behind the curtains in the back. After ordering at the counter, you can take a seat and food is brought directly to your table. 

I gained an appreciation for onigiri in San Francisco, so I was excited to hear they would be featured on the menu. I very much enjoyed all four onigiri (tuna, salmon, pork sung and picled plum) on my first visit, but my favorite was the tuna. My least favorite one was the vegetarian pickled plum onigiri. Onigiri are a “triangle rice ball sandwiching a layer of seasened tuna / salmon / pork sung / pickled plum and wrapped with seaweed with an optinal drizzle of sweet soy sauce or spicy sriracha.” It is a simple yet tasty concept. The rice vs. filling ratio is well-balanced.

The iced milk tea was perfect. The counter workers were efficient and super friendly. They even offered the table next to us a onigiri for them to try when they asked about what I was eating.

My friend ordered a spicy tuna roll, an eel roll, and an onigiri and enjoyed them. The rolls were rolled tightly, which is always a good sign.

The sushi prices are reasonable compared to some other places I have been ($14.99 for a Hawaiian plate lunch with Curry or Katsu Pork Cutlet (the most expensive items on the menu), $9.99 for a Dragon Roll and the spam musubi and onigiri are $4.50 each as of 10/2023).

The staff was friendly and welcoming. I treated myself to a spam musubi and shrimp okonomiyaki the other day. The spam was not salty, but rather was a sweet treat. The rice was firmly packed, topped with a slice of spam with a sweet sauce and wrapped in a sheet of nori. I actually really enjoyed it. It was warm and pliant and definitely hit the spot while I waited for my okonomiyaki, which I was told would take 15 minutes to prepare.

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. It was so hot that the bonito flakes were curling up and seemed to be waving at me. It was absolutely delicious and the leftovers made my home smell awesome. I couldn’t wait for breakfast the next day (I had eaten half of everything and brought the rest home – they were conveniently served in styrofoam containers. Environmentally unfriendly but I understand why. I wonder if I can bring my own container next time?).

I was also excited to see Ramune Japanese soda ($4). Ramune is a Japanese carbonated soft drink. It is sold in a “Codd-neck bottle” (a heavy glass bottle whose mouth is sealed by a round marble due to the pressure of the carbonated contents). I’m partial to the lychee, but melon is probably also awesome. The photo here was taken at Sushi Train (a conveyor belt sushi restaurant) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I have loved everything I have tried here. I’m going back soon for a Hawaiian plate lunch with mac salad and rice. I just need to decide if I want a pork or chicken cutlet or the Loco Moco (a hamburger patty smothered in beef gravy served with two sunny side eggs). I thoroughly enjoyed the Loco Moco and mac salad while in Hawaii and can’t wait. I can see this becoming a favorite spot for me.

Contact info:

Ice or Rice Cafe
3713 Payne Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 539-9092

 

Zoma Ethiopian Restaurant

Zoma Ethiopian Restaurant opened on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights in 2016. Back then Empress Taytu had my heart, but I was willing to give Zoma a try. It didn’t disappoint. Ethiopian cuisine is characterized both by its unique flavors and known for its communal presentation, a family-style approach with multiple items arriving on a large platter. Ethiopian food centers around vegetable, meat and fish-based stews, some of which are spicy, that are scooped up and eaten with small pieces of injera, a spongy flatbread made from fermented teff batter. It is eaten with your hands.

We went as a large group right in January 2017 after it opened and had a great time. They do not take reservations, but appreciate the heads up if there is going to be a big party. The dining room isn’t as homey as Empress Taytu, but it is still decorated nicely and has plenty of seating. They serve lunch from 11:45 to 2 and dinner from 4 to 9 (3 to 8 on Sundays). The lunch special is quite a good deal – two vegetarian entrees (not including the tibs) for $10.99, and you can add an extra veggie entree for $4. Extra injera is $2. The spicy beef stew and one veggie entree is $12.99.

I ordered the mild chicken stew, which is made with chunks of chicken breast simmered in a tumeric sauce and seasoned with ginger, garlic, onion and an herb butter. It is also served with a hard-boiled egg. It was quite tasty. It could have used a touch more heat, but I am not a spicy fan. The spicy chicken stew (dorowat) is simmered in a red pepper sauce and seasoned with the ginger, garlic, onion and herb butter. Dorowat is the signature dish of Ethiopian cuisine.

They have a wide variety of tib dishes, which are meat (chicken, beef or lamb), mushroom or tofu marinated with a special sauce and fried with onion, rosemary, jalapeno pepper and fresh garlic served in a sizzling pan. My favorite Ethiopian dish is without a doubt the chicken tibs. Their tibs are quite tasty. Unfortunately I can’t order it with a side of tikil gomen. The meat and veggie combo features only beef stew. I haven’t gotten the nerve to ask if I can sub it out. The meat combo features the stew and your choice of 2 veggie entrees.

They have a large variety of options for vegetarians and vegans. One of my friends couldn’t decide which vegetarian option she wanted, so she ordered the veggie combo. There are two veggie combo options available – 3 or 4 entrees. The Zoma Special Combo features beef tibs, spicy beef stew, home made cottage cheese and all 6 of the veggie dishes.

The fun part about Ethiopian food is they often serve the food on communal platters, which allows everyone to share several options. Ethiopian portions may look small at first, but the injera will fill you up. You will never leave hungry.

I met a vegetarian friend for lunch there a little while later, and we sat at one of the basket tables. We enjoyed the samosas (small vegetarian pastries filled with sauteed whole lentils, onions, and jalapeno pepper and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce) as well as the tim-tim fit fit, which is made with pieces of injera bread mixed with chopped fresh tomato, onion, jalapeno and Ethiopian herbs. The fit fit is obviously quite spicy, but it was really tasty. We both ordered vegetarian combos that day. I ordered my beloved tikil gomen (on the menu as simply “cabbage”), the collard greens and green beans and carrots, while she ordered the cabbage, green beans and carrots and split red lentils. The split red lentils are simmered in a medium hot berbere garlic and onion sauce, while the split yellow lentils are milder and simmered with onions, garlic, and turmeric.

Ethiopian offers a little something for everyone. They serve a wide variety of wine, including honey wine (Tej). The honey wine is light and refreshing, but also not overly sweet. I like the tea because it has a nice spice note. You can also get amped up on their coffee service. They roast the beans right in front of you and it is quite an experience for the senses.

Contact info:

Zoma Ethiopian RestaurantZoma Ethiopian Restaurant
2240 Lee Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
(216) 465-3239

Tita Flora’s

Cleveland does not have many Filipino restaurants. For the longest time, the only choice was Nipa Hut, a store on W. 130th in Parma that serves takeout during the week and had a buffet on Saturdays until COVID hit. Tita Flora’s is a welcome addition to the dining landscape. This sit-down restaurant can seat 60 and is located on Brecksville Road in Independence (in the former Babushka’s Kitchen location).

The restaurant serves Filipino staples like chicken or pork adobo (braised in soy sauce, vinegar, onions, garlic, and pepper), crispy vegetable or pork lumpia (similar to fried spring rolls), pork or tofu sisig served on a sizzling platter, pancit made with rice or wheat noodles, and longsilog, the all-day breakfast dish of sausage fried rice topped with a fried egg. They are still working out some kinks and were not serving the buttery garlic shrimp or the lunch specials that have since been taken off the menu.

We started off being greeted by our server and having any questions we had answered. She was very knowledgeable and took good care of us. We ordered beverages and Pik Pik (starters) to start. I had a taste of both lumpia, and they were both quite tasty and perfectly fried. The vegetable lumpia are filled with carrot, cabbage, and green bean and are served as two long rolls. I preferred the pork lumpia (Lumpia Shanghai). They just had more flavor and are served with a delicious chili dipping sauce. Another one of my friends enjoyed the fish balls. He was on the other side of the table, so I didn’t get a chance to sample them.

She highly recommended the pork or chicken adobo. My friend ordered the Bistek (thinly sliced beef and onions braised in soy and citrus – see above), but sent it back because it was too salty and ordered the pork adobo instead. I highly recommend getting the pork adobo. I had a piece of it and fell in love. It is made with pork belly and just has a ton of flavor. They were little nuggets of deliciousness.

Several of us ordered the Chicken Inasal. Billed as a “famous Ilonggo dish,” it is a quarter chicken marinated in a unique blend of spices and fire-grilled. It was served with a tiny side of tomato and cucumbers and little dipping sauce dishes to add to taste. One of us loved it, while the other had difficulty eating it.

One of my friends ordered the Ginataang Gulay, which is a creamy coconut milk stew made with squash and green beans. You can add shrimp to it. I had a taste of it and also loved it. It reminded me of the coconut milk stews I have enjoyed at Batuqui and Sergio’s Sarava. I will definitely order this the next time if the garlic shrimp still isn’t available.

All of the dinners come with white rice, but you can upgrade to garlic fried rice for an extra $2. We all chose to upgrade. I thought the garlic fried rice was good, but it was a little overpowering when paired with some of the more flavor-forward items. I ordered the white rice on my second visit with my chicken adobo, and it definitely hit the spot as I drizzled the sauce over the rice and paired it with a bit of chicken.

I went back a week later, hoping the garlic shrimp would be available, but it still wasn’t. I ordered the pork lumpia and chicken adobo and took half of both home for leftovers. The chicken adobo had a similar flavor profile as the pork adobo since it uses the same spices and marinade. The chicken flaked apart with my fork and was tasty, but I definitely prefer the pork adobo.

I have tried both desserts on the menu – the Turon and the Halo Halo. The Turon is a deep-fried banana rolled in a spring roll wrapper. It is normally served with ube ice cream, but they were out of the ube ice cream so I was served vanilla ice cream with an ube drizzle. It was perfectly fried with no residual grease and absolutely delicious. I shared it with my friends, and everyone agreed that it was tasty.

Halo Halo is Tagalog for “mix-mix.” The Halo Halo is a mix of crushed ice, evaporated milk, and various ingredients including coconut strips, sago, gulaman, sweet beans, and yams, and topped with a scoop of ice cream. I enjoyed it except for the clumps of ice that overwhelmed at times. It is kind of like a shaved ice with several toppings. I prefer the shaved ice at Koko Bakery over Halo Halo, but it is a nice ending to the meal if the Dairy King on the other side of the street is closed for the season.

I also hear that they serve silvanas, a traditional layered Filipino cookie from the southern region of the Philippines made by Silvanas Kitchen, a local Filipino artisan who started making them during the pandemic and selling them at local farmer’s markets. Be sure to ask about them and try one or two.

Contact info:

Tita Flora’s
6531 Brecksville Road
Independence, OH 44131
(216) 232-4303

Quisqueya Latin Cuisine

Quisqueya Latin Cuisine (also called Quisqueya La Bella) specializes in Puerto Rican and Dominican dishes like sopa, mondongo (tripe soup), empanadillas, tostones, fried pork with plantains, camarones con mofongo, and stewed beef with rice and beans. It was located in the Clark-Fulton area for seven years, but moved to Denison Avenue a few years ago. It is one side street (east) down from W. 25th/Pearl Road (if you pass W. 23rd you just missed it). Ample parking is available. This is the side view from the parking lot. You can access it from the side road just to the right of the building or from Denison. I have heard a lot of Cleveland Indians – I mean Guardians – eat here because the food reminds them of their homeland. Owner Dulce Hunt is just the sweetest person and has greeted my groups twice now.

The first time I ate at Quisqueya I was part of a Culture.CLE Dinner Series dining event. Culture.CLE is a monthly dinner series that helps Clevelanders experience cultures and cuisines from around the world. Every month they visit a new country through a fun ethnic dinner series centered around highlighting local immigrant and refugee-owned culinary businesses. They met on a Wednesday, when the restaurant is normally closed. I decided to attend on my own without knowing anyone and sat with a friendly group of friends. We were introduced to the Dominian cuisine during this event.

During this event, we had our choice of 1 protein – stewed beef, stewed chicken or a fried pork chop with either a side of white rice + pinto beans or yellow rice + pigeon peas. I chose the stewed chicken with the yellow rice and pigeon peas. I had never heard of pigeon peas and was intrigued. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world. In English they are commonly referred to as pigeon pea which originates from the historical utilization of the pulse as pigeon fodder (f00d) in Barbados. Fresh pigeon peas offer a nutty taste and crisp texture, similar to edamame. The young pods will be bright green, maturing to a dark brown-purplish color, with brown splotching or striations. Everyone was pleased with how flavorful everything was.

We were given tastings of two national drinks: Morir Soñando and Parcha/Chinola, a cooking demonstration of an empanadilla (and samples), and enjoyed a conversation and Q & A with the owner and chef. I liked the Morir Soñando so much I ordered one from the bar. It is a cold drink that is usually made of orange juice, milk, cane sugar, and chopped ice. It was very refreshing. Parcha is passion fruit juice and was equally refreshing and tasty.

I later organized a dinner with my dining out group on a a Monday night. We had a group of 9 and were the only ones there. I had called ahead to warn them, so there was plenty of staff to fawn over us. Dulce also came out to greet us. My friends ordered various dishes such as Bistec Encebollado (steak and onions), Camarones al Ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce), Camarones en Salsa (shrimp in a tomato sauce) and Guisado de Pollo (stewed chicken). Several of my friends are huge fans of goat, so they tried the Cabro Guisado (stewed goat) and loved it. I ordered the stewed beef and mangu and really enjoyed it. One of my friends declared it “winner dinner” but liked the goat even more.

Each entree came with one side and a little lettuce and tomato. You can choose from Arroz Blanco y Habichuelas (white rice and pinto beans), Tostones (fried plantains), Maduros (sweet plantains), the previously mentioned Moro/Arroz de Gandulez, Mangu (boiled plantains that are then mashed with butter, margarine or oil in the water in which they were boiled, then finally topped with sautéed red onions that have been cooked with vinegar), Mofongo (fried green plantains that are mashed with garlic and mixed with pork cracklings, then shaped into a ball and served in a ball), or French fries.

Row 1: Stewed beef with mangu, shrimp in tomato sauce with tostones
Row 2: Steak and onions with rice/pigeon peas, stewed goat with rice/pigeon peas
Row 3: Shrimp in garlic sauce with rice/pigeon peas, stewed chicken with tostones

One of my friends at the other end of the table ordered several different Empanadilla and raved about them (unfortunately I couldn’t take photos from where I was sitting). She is a huge empanada fan and quite a picky eater.

We also ordered the flan for dessert. One of my friends declared it was the best flan he had ever had. The menu depicts a circular flan, but we were served a proper slice as if it were a flan pie.

Contact info:

Quisqueya Latin Cuisine
2317 Denison Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44109
(216) 651-3410


Choukouya Resto-Bar

If you’re looking for traditional African fare, this restaurant features dishes from the Ivory Coast and additional West African nations. I have not eaten a lot of food from Africa, so I was intrigued when I heard it had opened in the former Nazca Bar & Grill location at the corner of Richmond Road and Emory. It is on the exact opposite end from Cafe Avalaun.

I initially scheduled a dinner with my dining out group there. We arrived at 6:30 PM on a Tuesday and were the only diners there. We were greeted by a friendly server who it turns out was also bartending. We were also entertained by a group of ladies in a line dancing class. One of my friends joined the class.

We were given a plate of grilled bread, and several of us ordered appetizers. I ordered the Meat pie, which is stuffed with meat and vegetables and deep-fried like an empanada. The African flavor really made it stand out from an empanada. It was quite tasty. A vegetarian version of the meat pie is also available.

To start off, I ordered the Chi Chi Watermelon – “five different rums with watermelon and pineapple juice served inside a watermelon fish bowl. (To Be Shared)” Oops. I didn’t share. I drank the whole thing and enjoyed every drop. The watermelon and pineapple juices were very refreshing. That said, they either served me a non-alcoholic version or I have a hella tolerance because I was not tipsy or buzzed after drinking it. It doesn’t appear to be on the menu anymore.

There are a wide variety of dishes to choose from – from soups and appetizers, to salads, stews, chicken (quarters or thighs), beef, lamb (rack of lamb or lamb shanks), steak (ribeye or t-bone), rabbit, fish (catfish, red snapper, or salmon) or seafood (scallops, shrimp, or lobster tail) to vegetable side dishes, FuFu and rice dishes to desserts. The choice of FuFu includes Eba (“gari” stirred in hot water and slowly cooked in plastic wrap – see photo to the left along with Egussi), pounded yam, pounded banana plantain, steamed rice, Jollof rice (rice cooked in a tomato sauce), Wake rice (rice steamed with black eyed beans) or Riz mosaique (rice mixed with vegetables). Other sides include Attieke (cassava (manioc) couscous), couscous (Moroccan couscous steamed in a tomato sauce) or mashed potatoes as well as starchy or vegetable sides such as Pomme lyonnaise (listed under Appetizers, but it’s fried African potatoes mixed with sautéed onion and choukouya seasoning), sweet potatoes, French fries, banana plantains, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, grilled zucchini, sauteed mushrooms and sauteed spinach.

Diners can choose from a variety of meats and vegetables and even two pasta dishes for the less adventurous. There are three African stews that are the focal point of the menu. They can be served with your choice of meat (lamb, goat, fish, chicken, or beef) or with none at all (vegetarian or vegan) and come with one side. The Peanut Sauce is made with groundnut (peanuts) cooked in a mild tomato soup with garlic and black pepper. There are 10 levels of spiciness to choose from. Egussi features West African melon seed cooked with fresh cut spinach in a spicy (or not spicy) broth with palm oil. Sauce feuille (see above photo with Wake rice) is made with well-seasoned fresh cut spinach and collard greens cooked in a red sauce with palm oil.

The shrimpy sauce (left) is delicious and the same sauce is used with the scallops. It seems to be a tomato-cream sauce that is simply scrumptious. I ordered the steamed rice (to truly enjoy the sauce) and a side of asparagus for a nice meal that I will also enjoy the next day. The asparagus was nicely grilled and tasty as well.

Thiebou Dienn is a popular dish from Senegal that is only available on the weekends. Served with fish, chicken or lamb, it is cooked in a red tomato sauce that is well-seasoned with a lot of veggies including cassava, carrots, eggplants, and other vegetables and served with its own rice.

I chose the Fruit de mer (above), which steams shrimp, scallops, and salmon together with organic leek, peas, mushroom and carrot in parchment paper. When the paper is opened, the seafood and vegetables are perfectly cooked and very delicious. I ordered the Riz mosaique with it, which was tasty. The dish is pricy, but definitely worth it!

One of my friends ordered the red snapper (Poisson braise), which is available either grilled (25 min) or fried (10 min) with some fragrant spices and topped with a salsa of vegetables. You can order it as a fillet, headless or with the head. My friend chose a grilled, headless red snapper with a side of Jollof rice and a side of banana plantains. The snapper and salsa was extremely fresh and delicious. I would definitely order it again.

One of my less adventurous friends ordered the Poulet Roti, which features a rotisserie chicken quarter with flavorful seasoning served atop a sauce of sautéed mushrooms and white garlic. It comes with a brick of its own rice. I can imagine ordering this myself for the mushroom and garlic sauce alone!

The service was a little slow, but I have a feeling it was because she was the only one there. Things got better once another employee arrived. We enjoyed the vibe and loved the food. It is worth noting that the food takes a little bit of time to prepare, but the times are stated on the menu and you expect a bit longer if they are busy, but the wait is worth it.

Contact info:

Choukouya Resto-Bar
4620 Richmond Road, Suite 292
Cleveland, OH 44128 (Beachwood)
(216) 245-6660