Good eats – Page 19 – Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Eats

Lucky’s Cafe in Tremont

When people ask me what my favorite brunch place in Cleveland is I don’t even have to think about it. My answer is always Lucky’s. The quirky little cafe is tucked away on the one-way portion of Starkweather just before it meets Professor (look for the brick building on the right with some weird metal sculpture on it because if you don’t I guarantee you will drive right past it). The restaurant prides itself on the quality of its ingredients, which are locally sourced or straight from the garden outside (you can actually see them go out and pick the fresh veggies and herbs). Everything here – from the bread to the condiments – is made from scratch.

Owner Heather Haviland is particularly proud of their Reuben, which is made entirely in-house, from the corned beef and sauerkraut to the bread to the Thousand Island Dressing. It was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Michael Symon is a fan of her biscuits and gravy.

The place is usually packed with a long line on the weekends, so I try to go here on off-hours. I showed up at 1 p.m. today and was told this was the slowest they had been since 9 a.m. During the summer you can eat in their garden right outside of the restaurant, which helps the lines somewhat but not entirely. This photo of the garden is older. Guests now sit under a wooden enclosure instead of a tent.

Since the restaurant uses locally sourced ingredients, Lucky’s has a tendency to run out of certain dishes. When I decided to order a cup of their corn and bacon chowder today I was informed that they had just run out. Drat!

My favorite item on the menu is the Shipwreck. As one Yelp reviewer states, “The shipwreck is a gigantic pile of awesome on a plate.” It is a scramble of home fries, eggs, seasonal veggies, bacon and cheese together and serves it with four diagonal slices of buttered como toast and a little side of fresh fruit. I always feel healthy eating it, but if you want to be even healthier choose the Canoewreck, which features curried tofu, home fries, seasonal veggies and brewer’s yeast. I was craving the como toast today, so I made the trek. The server was able to get me some jam, but once I tasted the buttered como toast on its own I stopped using the jam.

One of my best friends, who is a mac n cheese addict, loves their baked mac-n-cheese. It is rich and creamy with several different kinds of cheeses, plus extra cream. Definitely worth a splurge! I also highly recommend the waffle (the gingerbread waffle with fresh whipped cream is divine)

I love Lucky’s because it offers 20 oz. mugs of coffee served in cafe au lait mugs (one of my friends refers to them as “bowls of coffee”). The Papa Mocha (chocolate, cream, milk and espresso) is one of my favorites. I splurged today and ordered a 16 oz. Caramel Créme Breve and Sunshine Cocktail (orange Pellegrino mixed with fresh squeezed oj over ice). The coffee was as smooth and delicious as always, and the sunshine cocktail was refreshing. I was full and happy for the rest of the day.

Ordering and paying is a little different here. Your server will give you a little table topper with a letter on it when you order. After the meal, you then go to the register with the table topper, and a person behind the counter will ring everything up based off of the waitress ticket. I calculated the cost in my head when I ordered, so there were no surprises and I already had an idea of the tip I was going to leave.

Just a word of warning: they don’t do substitutions or special orders here, and the food can be a bit pricey. If you want an omelette “your way”, go to IHOP or Bob Evans. Plus, you should be prepared to pay a little extra for the quality and fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Expect to pay $12-15 per person for your entree and extra for drinks. My bill today was around $21.50. I couldn’t afford to eat here every day, but it is great for the occasional splurge or birthday brunch.

Contact info:

Lucky’s Cafe
777 Starkweather Avenue
Tremont, OH 44113
(216) 622-7773

Biga Wood Fired Pizzeria in Kirtland

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you know that I fell in love with Neapolitan pizza while studying abroad. I had been hearing lots of good things about Biga in Kirtland, and I am happy to report that everything I heard is true. Biga is a family-run pizzeria, so they have limited business hours. It is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5-10 PM and Sunday from 4-8 PM. The restaurant features wood-fired pizza, generous salads and humongous (and delectable) desserts and focuses on locally sourced ingredients. The place is small, so reservations are recommended. They also do not offer takeout on Friday and Saturdays from 6:30-8:30 PM. They do not have a liquor license, but you can bring your own beer or wine for a $2 corkage fee.

The crust is hands down the best of the best here in Cleveland. Since it is fired in a wood-burning oven the crust is going to be a little charred in places. If this bothers you don’t go here. If, however, you think the char adds flavor to the crust you will be very happy here. That said, I have never had a “burnt” crust here. The chefs are very conscientious.

For my first visit I met six friends here. This group likes to share, so I was able to try just about everything. We started off ordering the broccolini, which was an immense mound of broccolini covered in garlic and parmesan cheese. We all had some and still had leftovers. One of my friends and I also ordered the Crispy Salad, featuring locally-grown butter crunch lettuce, Sage Apple Farm’s Fuji apples, crisp celery, toasted walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. It was a good salad, but huge. Three or four people could easily split one. Another absolute stand-out was the antipasto, which features wood-roasted tomatoes, fresh sliced salume, Castelvetrano olives, herb pesto dip and cheese served with wood-fired bread. The tomatoes and herb pesto were to die for – you could tell the ingredients were fresh!

I had ordered the J&B pizza, which is a white pizza featuring “house-made sausage, Barb and Patty’s Butcher Palace’s bacon, mushrooms, onions and fresh mozzarella cheese.” Other pizzas ordered by our table included the Rustica (a white pizza featuring fresh artichokes, onions and Kalamata olives, garnished with locally-grown oregano, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese), the Wild Mushroom (another white pizza with wild-harvested roasted mushrooms, locally-grown oregano and fresh mozzarella cheese), a Daily Special (which featured fresh corn and bacon and was delicious), and the Special Seasonal Pizza, which was a prosciutto and fig pizza. They were all outstanding, but my hands-down favorite was the Sweet Sausage Pizza, which is a red pizza featuring sweet sausage, locally-grown oregano, made-in-house tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese).

I liked it so much I went back a week later and ordered it. That visit I met a girlfriend for dinner, and we ordered the Homemade Meatballs as an appetizer and split the pizza. The meatballs were soft and flavorful and were surrounded by a ring of wood-fired bread. The pizza was just as good as I remembered. We also ordered the seasonal lemon tart, which we only intended to have two bites of and leave but found it to be so delicious that we couldn’t stop eating it and finished it off. It was absolutely delicious.

On subsequent visits I have enjoyed the Smokey Blue Pizza (wild mushrooms, hand-crafted prosciutto, smoked blue cheese and mozzarella cheese – without the prosciutto) and a seasonal pizza with Sage Apple Farm’s honeycrisp apples, Barb and Patty’s Butcher Palace’s flavorful bacon and cheddar cheese, garnished with locally-grown rosemary. I have never been disappointed with any of the food here.

The desserts are HUGE! They are all homemade in-house. We ordered several and passed them around the first visit. I ordered the Ho-Ho, which is a huge cylindrical, chocolate-frosted, Bailey’s cream-filled cake. The Bomb is an ice cream cake swirled with Nutella. The version that night was featuring fresh blueberry sauce swirled in along with the Nutella. It truly was the bomb! But the desserts should definitely be shared.

A note about the photos: I left my phone/camera in the car on my first visit, so the photos of the menu, antipasto, and corn & bacon pizza (basically the artful square photos) are from my friend Edsel L’s Flickr account. Be sure to check out his other photos from that visit! They will make your mouth water – even the salad photo!

Contact info:

Biga Wood Fired Pizzeria
9145 Chillicothe Road
Kirtland, Ohio, 44094
(440) 379-7313

Cibrèo Italian Kitchen

I was honored to be invited to a soft opening chef’s tasting at Cibrèo last week. It officially opened yesterday. Cibrèo is the latest creation of the Driftwood Restaurant Group, which operates Washington Place Bistro, the Welshfield Inn, Hodges, Orchard House, and 87 West at Crocker Park.

After taking advantage of the free valet (especially welcome when the surrounding parking lots were charging $10 due to the Indians game) we were immediately blown away by the ambiance of the place upon walking in. Gone are the darker fixtures of Bricco and in their place are light-colored sandstone, brick archways and oak barrels, which are reminiscent of a Tuscan wine cellar. I adore Tuscany, so I immediately relaxed as soon as we walked in (and after braving the Indians game traffic I needed to relax!).

A fire was roaring in the corner, and there were flickering (flameless) candles in recesses inside a massive sandstone wall on the north side of the room. I particularly loved that feature. The new location seats 200 people, with private rooms that can seat up to 125. We were welcomed with a small feature cocktail, the Paloma Italia, which features Milagro Reposado tequila, fresh lime juice, and Grapefruit San Pellegrino. It was light and refreshing, and although I am not a huge fan of grapefruit I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to try some of their other cocktails, such as the Jack Lemmon (Caravella Limoncello, Plymouth Gin, ginger, mint, and Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon Soda – I LOVE Bitter Lemon soda!), the Sophia Loren (OYO Honey Vanilla Bean Vodka, egg white, chocolate, Fragelico and cream) or the A&W (1792, vanilla and root beer). They hoped to have the liquor license by the time they opened.

The bread service featured sea salt, butter and pesto drizzled lightly with olive oil. The bread was easy to dunk, and they also served bread sticks.

The first course was sausage, porcini mushroom and bean soup. It was delicious. It was somewhat spicy and made me appreciate the sausage, mushroom, beans and kale of it all. I could see trying to recreate something like this at home – very simple and fresh ingredients.

The second course was an earthy Risotto Funghi. If you like mushrooms you will enjoy this. I’m still on the fence about it. It had a very creamy texture, as a good risotto should be. It was definitely flavorful, but the earthiness of the mushrooms were a bit overwhelming. If you love mushrooms you will definitely love this dish. The added shaved fresh parmesan brightened it up. It features porcini and shitake mushrooms, truffle, and pecorino toscano cheese. It came out served family style, but we only ate half to save room for the remaining courses.

The third course was a bolognese of veal, pork and beef served over fresh pappardelle that they import from Italy. I may or may not have wanted to lick the plate clean. As Chef Erik Martinez explained, a good bolognese should not be dripping in sauce. It should stick to the pasta, and there should not be anything left over when you are done. I am a huge fan of Bolognese, so I enjoyed this course a lot.

The fourth course – the Pork Osso Buco – blew everyone away. Paired with a glass of white Vernaccia wine (which honestly surprised me but it complemented it well), it had a light gremolata glaze that featured hints of citrus. Gremolata is a chopped herb condiment typically made of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley. This one was heavy on the lemon zest, but it provided a nice contrast to the richness of the meat, but didn’t detract from it. The meat immediately fell off the bone when I went to cut it in half to share with my tablemate. It was served with brown butter polenta and Swiss chard. OMG, the polenta was DIVINE. I am not a fan of polenta normally, and I would order a heaping plate of this as an entree if I could.

We were offered gelato for dessert. Judging from some of the other reviews they made a lot of different gelato flavors. Our table was offered passion fruit and Nutella. I was stuffed, but there’s always room for gelato – just not room for two different kinds. The Nutella gelato was as creamy as a good gelato should be and was sufficiently chocolatey and hazelnutty. As Nutella should be. It was the perfect end to a delicious meal.

I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other things off the menu. Can you say boar and porcini ragu over pappardelle? To quote George Takei, “Oh myyyy!” But I will be sure to order the polenta! It’s available as a side dish. As a Broadway series subscriber I’m at PlayhouseSquare a lot. I will be visiting frequently, and look forward to sitting in front of the fire this winter.

Contact info:

Cibrèo Italian Kitchen
1438 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
(216) 862-9212

Disclosure: I was invited by Cibrèo to attend the Friends and Family preview with a guest. However, all opinions are my own.

On the Rise Bakery

I have been on a quest to find the perfect sandwich in Cleveland. Let me qualify that – the best sandwich on a European-style baguette. Ever since I saw Martha Stewart make a ham sandwich with some kind of aioli on a crusty baguette on her show I’ve been looking for a similar sandwich. I think I may have just found what I have been looking for.

One of the best parts of living in Cleveland Heights for me is all of the excellent bakeries that bake crusty European style loaves that I loved so much in Germany. Between Zoss the Swiss Baker, The Stone Oven, On the Rise and Luna Bakery we are pretty darn lucky. The Cleveland Scene’s most recent survey asked for the best bakery in Cleveland, and Stone Oven, On the Rise and Luna were three of the four choices. It was a really hard choice to make!

I love On the Rise. Their sticky buns are amazing, the breads are fresh, and a warm Jennifer cookie (their signature cookie made of oats, nuts, and chocolate) just out of the oven is an orgasmic experience. But now they have started to serve sandwiches and soups on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30-1:30, and I am done for. I have been wanting to try their offerings for a while now, and today was my chance. I popped in there this morning to buy some bread for a dinner party I am having tonight. Nothing fancy, just a couple vegetarian friends to share a veggie curry recipe I’ve been wanting to try.

I decided to treat myself to two of their sandwiches because I couldn’t decide. I chose the Banh Mi and the Roasted Chicken. I cut them in half when I got home and saved the other halves for tomorrow. They may or may not make it that long.

The Roasted Chicken sandwich was like spring on a baguette. A soft yet crusty and delightfully thin baguette. It features roasted chicken, fresh greens, fresh asparagus tossed with pickled onion, herbs and olive oil, an egg salad spread and aioli. It was delightful. Fresh and bright and very flavorful. The flavors melded well together, and the asparagus kept falling out of the sandwich. The asparagus was perfectly crisp and not roasted within an inch of its life. And the egg salad was a great addition to a roasted chicken sandwich. I enjoyed it very much.

And then I tried the Banh Mi. Oh, the Banh Mi! I think I moaned on the first bite. According to their menu, it features New Creation Farm braised pork, Vietnamese pate, jalapeno and cilantro. But it is obviously much more than that. It was flavorful and juicy. I have no idea where the juices came from. The juices dripped down my hand and made the sandwich an absolute delight because it was perfect and not dry. It could give the banh mi from Superior Pho and Saigon Grille a run for their money. The braised pork was yummy and the pate was not overwhelming like the one I had at The Black Pig. The pickled vegetables were crunchy and perfectly seasoned. It made me wish my hands were all thumbs so I could give it ten thumbs up instead of two. If you like a good banh mi, please try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

IMAG3891 — Chocolate cherry panini (mini-loaf)

The ham and gruyere baguette is also very good. It features New Creation Farm ham, thinly sliced gruyere and herb butter. I picked one up just after they started serving their lunch menu at 10:30. It made a great European-style breakfast. I sliced some fresh Roma tomato and added that. I loved the bites with and without tomato equally. It was just a solid sandwich.

I can’t wait to try their other sandwiches. Vegetarians will be delighted with the Burrata sandwich on one of their rustic rolls – featuring house made burrata from Snowville Creamery cream. IMAG4412 The pulled beef baguette with maple slaw and Prosciutto Americano with honey butter and arugula also sound delightful. The menu changes with the season, because all of the sandwiches use fresh, locally sourced ingredients. They particularly thank New Creation Farm, Miller Livestock and Wolff Farm.

They also make awesome bread. I buy a loaf of Pullman whenever I’m there. I also love their epi and baguettes. They have special breads all week, including stuffed fougasse and bacon gruyere bread. They make a chocolate cherry bread that I love so much I don’t go there on Wednesdays because I will eat the whole loaf.

Contact info:

On The Rise Artisan Breads & Pastries
3471 Fairmount Boulevard
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
(216) 320-9923
http://www.facebook.com/ontherise
http://twitter.com/ontherisebreads

Vero Bistro in Cleveland Heights

Edit: Vero Bistro expanded and added a full liquor bar in March 2024. The move doubled the available seating, which is a welcome addition. Vero has been operating at full capacity pretty much since it opened in 2012. It is still open for dinner from 5 to 9 (to 10 on Fridays and Saturdays) Tuesdays through Saturdays (closed on Sundays and Mondays). To avoid the long wait I would either get there right when it opened or just not go at all (they really don’t encourage pizza takeout because the pizza is best fresh out of the pizza oven). Reservations are encouraged. They now accept reservations for all parties on their Tock platform. The restaurant tries to keep 30% of the restaurant reservation-free for walk-ins. If no table is available upon your arrival they have a wait list.

The new double-storefront layout increases the seating from 45 to around 100 available seats. The new expansion features a 10-seat marble-topped bar, main floor seating and has kept the mezzanine that overlooks it all. The result is a bright and cheerful space. I recently met friends there and enjoyed my usual Margherita DOP pizza, Caesar salad and – to my delight – a delightful Limoncello-Pistachio Spritz featuring prosecco, limoncello, a lemon/pistachio syrup and soda. It was super refreshing. If you enjoy Aperol Spritz they serve those too!

Original post from March 12, 2013:

Once upon a time there was a young girl who was studying abroad in Austria and spent her Easter break in Italy. She still cannot forget the delicious pizza she ate in Florence – and that was 23 years ago. Well, I don’t have to simply remember it anymore, because I can enjoy it whenever I want at Vero Bistro in Cleveland Heights. Vero Bistro opened last summer in the site of the old La Gelateria in the Cedar-Fairmount district. They serve pizza made in a wood-fired oven and gelato. Vero focuses on Napoletano pizza, which is the classic Italian pizza. The pizzas are served uncut and feed one person – just like I am used to from Germany and Italy. Vero Bistro prides itself on using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The sources are printed on the menu.

I met with some friends on a Saturday night. We quickly found a four-top downstairs near the window. One of our friends brought several bottles of red wine and a bottle of Cava for our table. Vero does not have a liquor license yet (it is supposed to be approved very soon), so they do not charge a corkage fee. Several other diners had brought along six-packs of Great Lakes beer to enjoy with their pizzas.

I started with a house salad, which featured fresh greens, cherry tomatoes bursting with flavor, and a house balsamic vinaigrette. It was fresh and simple, yet very flavorful. I can’t wait to try their watercress & arugula salad next time.

I ordered a basic Pizza Margherita, which urban legend claims was commissioned in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. It features San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. The dough is made fresh every day using Italian flour and fresh yeast and proofs overnight. The sauce features hand-crushed Italian plum tomatoes, a touch of salt, and Italian herbs and is not cooked beforehand, waiting to be cooked by the heat of the oven. The pizzas puff up in the oven and are fully cooked in 90 seconds. It was divine. Simple, but absolutely divine. There was some char on the bottom of the pizza, but that is to be expected on a Napoli-style pizza from a wood-burning oven. The char added to the delicious flavor of the crust. While eating the pizza with my knife and fork, I would save some of the juicy inner slice to add to the top of the crust for the perfect bite of flavor. That is how it is meant to be enjoyed, and that is how the Europeans do it. Although there is appeal in folding a slice of New York pizza, this is my favorite way to enjoy a pizza and I’ve missed it.

I was able to taste my friends’ pizzas as well. The Pizza Funghi added mushrooms to the Margherita pizza, while the Pizza Radice features garlic aioli, oven roasted vegetables, fresh mozzarella and goat cheese, and arugula. The garlic aioli really made this pizza a standout.

I ended my meal with a small Stracciatella gelato. Stracciatella gelato is kind of like American chocolate chip ice cream, except completely different. Instead of the chips and sometimes chunks you find in the American product, Stracciattella has fine bits of chocolate throughout, which results in a smooth texture with just the slightest crunch in every bite. My all-time favorite gelato is Bacio though, which is a chocolate hazelnut flavored gelato, which is also served there.

There have been some complaints about slow service, but we were not there to rush. The servers also had to run up and down the stairs waiting on all of the occupied tables. If people came in for gelato then that was one less server on the floor. We sat and enjoyed several bottles of wine and good company.

IMG_20180125_172546 I have since made this my go-to pizza place when I am craving pizza and want to go out. The seats may not be comfortable, but the pizza is so delicious I don’t mind.

If you want a quality pizza, you won’t be disappointed here. It’s a little pricier than Domino’s but infinitely more satisfying. In short, I can’t wait to come back again. Is today for lunch too soon?

Contact info:

Vero Bistro
12421 Cedar Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
(216) 229-8383

Clambake at Alfredo’s at the Inn in Mayfield

Alfredo’s at the Inn is an Italian restaurant located in the Holiday Inn in Mayfield. It’s not Amp 150 in the Marriott, but it is a very good hotel restaurant, which is always nice to see. My friend loved the carved 16th century antique desk just outside the entrance, and the pumpkins lining the hallways were whimsical. The metal shelves lining the wall when you walk to the hostess station filled with bags of chips and the coolers of soda and bottled juices were a little disconcerting though. I felt it kind of detracted from the ambiance of the restaurant.

The restaurant itself has very good ratings on Urbanspoon and Yelp, and I had initially heard about it on the local food program 3 Squares. I’ve been meaning to schedule a dinner with my dining out group here. When I read in the FR!DAY magazine that they were offering a clambake on Friday and Saturday nights in late September and October I knew I had to check it out. The clambake is $23.95 a person and offered a lot of food and value for the money.

The parking lot was fairly full – as was the restaurant when we arrived at 7:30 this past Friday night. Despite that, my friend and I were quickly shown to a table and given menus and water. Even though I knew what I wanted I read through the menu and was thrilled to see they serve Beef Braciole. Not many restaurants serve braciole, which I came to appreciate several years ago at a friend’s aunt’s house the night before my first 3-Day walk. When our waitress came to the table to greet us we ordered wine and the clambakes.

While we were waiting for our wine someone dropped off a basket of warm Italian bread and whipped butter. The bread was really good – crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, and we each had our own containers of butter. Our waitress quickly brought out our first course – a cup of New England clam chowder and creamy coleslaw. The coleslaw needed some pepper to season it, but it was quite good. The clam chowder was hot and delicious, with visible chunks of clam.

The bake itself came out on a HUGE platter and included a dozen steamed middle neck clams, a half of a chicken roasted with rosemary and garlic, grilled corn on the cob, and a baked sweet potato as well as a container of melted butter. Being middle neck clams, the clams were a little chewy but very flavorful. A couple of them were gritty, but I feel that just shows that the clams are fresh. If they were in ice water for a while (or too long) they wouldn’t be gritty. The roasted chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and moist. I love rosemary on chicken, so I was very happy. The corn on the cob was perfectly cooked – not mushy or hard, but just right. It had some nice char marks from the grill on it. The sweet potato was good, but that is never my favorite part of a clambake.

We had some trouble flagging down our waitress after our food was delivered for more water, and even more trouble getting her to bring us the bill and cash us out. If she had bothered to ask us if we wanted dessert I would have probably ordered a chocolate covered strawberry. Not because I was still hungry, but because they looked amazing in the refrigerated case when we walked in. I can’t wait to come back and try some of the Italian entrees and the amazing-looking desserts. If the food tastes half as good as it smells I won’t be disappointed.

If you love a good clambake and don’t have any friends hosting one at their home, Alfredo’s is a nice alternative. They’ll be featuring their clambake through October.

Contact info:

Alfredo’s at the Inn
780 Beta Dr
Mayfield Village, OH 44143
(440) 449-4833

Tree Country Bistro on Coventry Road

Tree Country Bistro is just down the street from me, and I had no idea it was there for almost a year. That was a real shame, but I’m making up for lost time. Right in the heart of Coventry, this tiny little restaurant is an Asian food haven. Tree Country Bistro offers a large variety of menu selections ranging from Japanese entrees and sushi to Korean such as Bi Bim Bab and traditional Thai curries. Located so close to Pacific East I never thought to go to Tree Country Bistro for sushi, but their sushi is equally fresh and delicious. When I order sushi for delivery, Tree Country Bistro is my first choice, because they offer a wide selection of sushi and some other warm appetizers like shumai (steamed or fried shrimp dumplings with a soy ginger sauce – I prefer them steamed as in this photo).

You can’t go wrong with the spring rolls (as seen in the top photo behind my melon smoothie) or the gyoza (pork dumplings), but if you want to try something different I highly recommend you try the soft shell crab tempura as an appetizer. The dish features lightly breaded and perfectly fried soft shell crab and vegetables with a light dipping sauce. Wow! Talk about different and delicious!

My favorite roll is their Ebi Mango Maki, which features cooked shrimp, fresh mango, tempura crumbs and a special sauce. The flavor is bright and delicious. The tempura crumbs were a nice contrast to the smoothness of the mango.

If you prefer trying their Korean dishes you will also not be disappointed. Their Bulgogi and Bi BimBap are definite must-tries. Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, chicken or pork. It is listed at number 23 on the World’s 50 most delicious foods readers’ poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011. Bulgogi literally means “fire meat” and is made from thin slices of beef. Before cooking, the meat is marinated to enhance its flavor and tenderness with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, pepper and other ingredients such as scallions, onions or mushrooms.

The day we ate there most of my friends ordered the various versions of BimBap, which features chicken or beef. It is made with bulgogi-style meat and deliciously marinated vegetables. Tree Country Bistro serves their traditional BimBap with a cooked egg on top (see photo on left). They also serve Okdol Bi BimBap (on the right), which is served in a sizzling hot stone pot. Everyone loved their choices.

The service was attentive (considering we were a large table and they had quite a few additional tables to take care of at the same time). Drinks were refilled, and the attention to detail in the food was really remarkable. In fact, one of the plates of sushi was served in the shape of a heart, which was a cute touch. The owners brought out a beautifully cut plate of fresh fruit (watermelon, honeydew melon, grapes and orange slices topped with hand-carved carrot butterflies and flowers) for us on the house, which was a lovely surprise. Unfortunately my photo of it was blurry, so I can’t share it. It was the perfect ending to a delicious meal.

The menu is understandably extensive. You can check it out by clicking on the restaurant name under Contact info. I’m confident everyone you dine with will be able to find something to satisfy them.

Contact info:

Tree Country Bistro
1803 Coventry Road
Cleveland Hts. OH 44118
(216) 321-0644

An Ode to Smoked Prime Rib

Now being served in the dining room of Frank Sterle’s on Friday nights.

Oh, smoked prime rib, you complete me… your tender, juicy meat, your marbling, your smoky flavor, your crispy crust…
Served with creamy garlic mashed potatoes and the tenderest, butteriest ear of corn I’ve eaten in a long while…
Walter and Scott from Fat Casual BBQ in Macedona (later Tavern of Solon, now Frank Sterle’s) have outdone themselves – truly…
I don’t think I shall ever forget you.

Luckily I won’t have to, because they are starting to serve it again since the weather is starting to cool. Get your own smoked prime rib by visiting ~~Fat Casual BBQ in Macedonia~~ ~~Tavern of Solon~~ Frank Sterle’s Slovenian Country House on Friday nights. The smoked prime rib is ready to serve at 5 and sells out quickly. The day I bought mine it sold out by 6:15. I got mine to go and ate the other half of the prime rib on a crispy baguette from Stone Oven for lunch the next day. If they’ve run out, you won’t go wrong ordering anything off their menu, such as the ribs, the smoked turkey, the brisket, the sweet potato salad, the deep fried potato salad…

Jack’s Deli & Restaurant in University Heights

Since I recently wrote about Corky & Lenny’s I thought it would be only fair to write about the other Jewish deli in my “neighborhood,” Jack’s Deli. As one Yelper describes it, “If you like traditional Jewish delis, this is your place. From the deli counter, to the no-nonsense “Brooklyn”-type staff and all the old biddies sitting in the dining room kvetching with their mumbling husbands, its [sic] like you’re in a Woody Allen flick or Seinfeld episode!” I couldn’t agree more.

One of my foodie friends recommended Jack’s Deli to me, and I have been hooked ever since. Jack’s has been in business for over 30 years and is tucked away in a strip mall at the corner of Cedar and Green. It is around the back of the strip mall just behind the BP station. The store front has about a million handicapped spots (I’m exaggerating – it’s more like 6), and you need to drive past it and park in the lot to the left.

Just as any respectable Jewish deli, they greet you with a glass of water and a plate of homemade kosher pickles. This last visit featured both kosher dill and kosher garlic and dill pickles. They help take the edge off while you peruse the menu and then wait for your food. Jack’s also serves jars of them to go in the lobby. I highly recommend picking up a jar on your way out.

Both offer great sandwiches, corned beef and melt-in-your-mouth brisket, and other kosher delicacies. For those of you who like tongue, you can get it here, and my Jewish, former New Yorker friend swooned over it. Everything is made from scratch.

Jack’s may not have a lunch counter, but it has its devoted regulars and features the best soup in my opinion! The flavor of their chicken soup broth is just a bit deeper and richer. Their version of The Mish Mash is called The Whole Magilla and, like Corky & Lenny’s, features a matzoh ball, kreplach, noodles, rice – all served in an extra large bowl. I’ve ordered it to go several times and they give me a quart container brimming with goodness.

Most of the time I order a half sandwich and a cup of the matzoh ball soup. It doesn’t sound like a lot of food, but the sandwich is brimming over with sliced meat and the matzoh ball is filling. The beef is well-flavored, lean and cut thick enough to give the sandwich some heft. The soup and half sandwich combo really fills you up. I prefer brisket over corned beef or pastrami, so my regular choice is half a brisket sandwich, which I doctor with just a little bit of the yellow mustard. My only complaint is that serving a spicy brown mustard like Stadium mustard or Gulden’s as well would really be nice.

My favorite sandwich at Jack’s is their Famous Brisket Dip. It features hot brisket with melted Swiss cheese and grilled onions grilled on Challah bread and served with a side of au jus and crinkle cut french fries. I have started ordering it without the au jus, because it tastes so delicious as is. Plus, as a Virgo I prefer less messy sandwiches, which au jus just guarantees. The French fries are always crisp outside and buttery soft inside. The roasted beef brisket served open-faced with beef gravy or turkey and turkey gravy with mashed potatoes or French fries is also divine – comfort food at its best!

I never have room for dessert when I eat here, but the cheesecakes are amazing. I hear their other desserts are wonderful as well.

Also, Jack’s Deli also serves great breakfasts, like Challah French toast, omelettes, corned beef hash, matzoh brei and L.E.O. Nova lox with eggs and onions. Be sure to hit the deli counter on your way out. Everything always looks and tastes fresh and delicious.

Update: They have recently renovated the cash register and dining areas to allow for more seating. I wouldn’t recognize the place.

Contact info:

Jack’s Deli & Restaurant
14490 Cedar Road
University Heights, OH 44121
(216) 382-5350

Hot Sauce Williams

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Edit: All Hot Sauce Williams locations are now closed.

1297095070-hot-sauce-williams — Photo from the Cleveland Scene

Hot Sauce Williams is a Cleveland institution. I drive past it all the time and had heard so many good things about it that I finally decided I needed to try it. If you love fried food that is slathered in hot sauce, then this is your place. We went to the main restaurant on Carnegie, but they have additional locations on Lee Road and Superior Avenue. The restaurant has a “divey” feel to it, which I always enjoy (I still miss the old Suds Maguire in Olmsted Township). The tables are covered in plastic and the place looks somewhat run-down. Just don’t come here expecting fast or friendly service. In fact, the major negative about our visit to Hot Sauce Williams was that the service was slower than molasses and was not particularly friendly, but we quickly forgot about that after digging into the food. But if you go in knowing it’s a bit of a dive and that the food makes it worth the trip you’ll be ok. One thing I can say is that you get a massive amount of food for a great price. It just took an hour to get it. If you don’t want to wait that long, order whatever is in the warmers behind the counter.

Hot Sauce Williams’ fried chicken was highly recommended as being amazingly good, so I went there intent on fried chicken. I ordered the 2 piece fried chicken breast dinner and received two massive bone-in chicken breasts. They needed to make it in the back and took their good old sweet time doing so. It came out so hot it melted the styrofoam. I could barely finish one breast and took the rest home. It came with cole slaw and French fries and slices of white or wheat bread and cost a whopping $5.99.

The wing dinner was $5.00 and also came with French fries and coleslaw, white or wheat bread. My friend upgraded and ordered three different sides, which she absolutely raved about – mac and cheese, collard greens and candied yams. True Southern comfort food!

Another friend ordered a full slab rib dinner for $19.50 (it also comes with French fries, cole slaw and white or wheat bread). He let me try a couple bones while I waited for my food and watched everyone eat. They don’t fall off the bone, but they are nicely smoked and slathered in an absolutely delicious sauce. After all, Hot Sauce Williams is known for the BBQ sauce.

They gave our group a mess of French fries for free to compensate for our wait. We got an industrial restaurant aluminum pan brimming full of fries (you can see it at the top of the photo in the center of the table). The fries are actually store-bought Ore-Ida brand fries, but they were good – especially drenched in the hot sauce, which wasn’t all that hot (as in spicy).

We weren’t all that impressed with the desserts though (I was so unimpressed that I didn’t even take photos of it), so unless something really tickles your fancy just keep gorging yourself on the dinners. No one walked out of here hungry. In fact, we all left with lots of leftovers.

Hot Sauce Williams has been featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and Man vs. Food. The menu item that was featured on Man vs. Food was the Polish Boy IMG_20170625_193149 sandwich. It is a whopping $3.50. According to Man vs. Food, the Polish Boy is Cleveland’s signature menu item. I must not be a true Clevelander (although I was born in Parma and grew up in Olmsted Falls), because I have never had a Polish Boy. Pierogis? Yes. Kielbasa? Yes. But a Polish Boy? I had never heard of one until a few years ago. The Polish Boy at Hot Sauce Williams is made up of an all beef kielbasa, French fries, cole slaw, bbq pork shoulder, and hot sauce on a bun. I’ll be sure to get one next time.

Contact info:

Hot Sauce Williams
3770 Lee Road
Cleveland, OH 44128
(216) 921-4704

12310 Superior Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216)249-0710