Category: Uncategorized

Yonder Brunch & Vibes opened this year in Midtown in La Bodega’s old location. This is not fast food so a wait was to be expected, but the wait during my initial visit was ridiculous. I brought a small group in for breakfast, and we must have completely overwhelmed them. We were probably the first people through the door, but more people arrived after us. The first person who ordered from our group ended up getting his food last – an hour after he ordered it. That said, the food was really good.

I ordered a coffee and an apple juice as well as a breakfast that featured soft-scrambled eggs, bacon, buttered and grilled Texas toast, and smashed potatoes. It was a lot of food! I ended up packing some potatoes, toast and bacon to go because it was a lot. When I say buttered and grilled, I mean buttered and grilled. This was the most buttered toast I have ever had – I swear they SOAK it in butter before grilling it. It also leaves your hands greasy, so keep the breakfast sandwiches in the paper wrappers when you eat them.

The coffee is good and you can go up to the counter for a refill. They have milk, half and half and liquid creamers available. They have the sugar, creamer packs, stirrers, etc. with the silverware, syrup and butter on the side counter.

Most of my friends ordered the Yonder breakfast sandwich or some variation thereon. It features the buttered and grilled Texas toast packed with bacon or sausage (or avocado), egg and cheese. The Yonder features Applewood bacon, caramelized onions, soft-scrambled eggs, cheese, chives and Chipotle Mayo. Everyone loved their sandwich.

Two of my friends ordered the Pancakes Classic, which features two pancakes, two eggs and your choice of meat. The soft-scrambled eggs had some cheese in them, and the over easy eggs came out perfect.

They also serve cocktails and special iced teas, but it was too early for a cocktail. They are only open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., so I can’t imagine they do a rocking alcohol trade (particularly during the week). The iced tea was very refreshing, if a little boring – it only had a couple citrus wedges when some of the other photos I’ve seen are more decadent.

Despite the wait, everyone left happy. I’m not sure if anyone went back on their own, but now that they have opened a second location in South Euclid I think it is pretty likely they are doing good business.

I went back again to try the Cereal Killa French Toast. They use the Texas toast and coat it in breakfast cereals. The Cereal Killa features 4 slices of French toast (you can choose from Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Apple Jacks and Frosted Flakes), while the French toast breakfasts have 2 slices and egg and meat. I tried the Fruity Pebbles French toast with two eggs (I chose well-scrambled with no cheese) and a meat (pork bacon for me). I can’t decide if I liked the Fruity Pebbles French toast. They had a weird scent and flavor. I think the heat might change the molecular structure a bit. The flavor lingered with me throughout the day. I’ll try Frosted Flakes next time. They even have an Oreo French toast now. The menu is a little longer than it is online.

Contact info:

Yonder Brunch & Vibes
Midtown location
3859 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 465-3046

Cedar Center North location
13957 Cedar Road
South Euclid, OH 44118
(216) 400-6201

This has been a very weird year. I’ve been disconnected from the restaurant scene because I am at high risk and have been sheltering like a pro. I’ve been doing my part in getting take-out, but oftentimes I have been relying on restaurants I regularly enjoy and have probably already reviewed. I pivoted my Instagram, which was set up to feature my food adventures, to featuring Pampered Chef products. I became a Pampered Chef consultant in July and have been cooking at home with all my fun new and old Pampered Chef gadgets. I particularly love our Air Fryer and put my VitaMix in storage in favor of the Quick Cooking Blender, because it doesn’t just heat up but cooks the soups and hot chocolate and makes other things like jam.

But I too am getting corona-weary and miss a good piece of fried fish, so I decided to shake things up and do Fish Fry Fridays again. I missed Ash Wednesday because it snuck up on me, and I wasn’t in the mood for fish yet. Nevertheless, last night I decided I needed a good fish fry and referred to the shortlist I made from the Scene’s 50 Cleveland Fish Fries to Try This Lenten Season. I whittled down my choices to a select few this year: DiCillio Tavern, Post and Beam on Snow Rd, West Park Station, the Flat Iron Cafe, the Firehouse Grille in Willoughby, the Little Polish Diner, Tavern of Little Italy, and Larder. I may or may not also grab one from Ohio City Provisions and/or Melt.

My favorite Christmas present this year is the Cleveland Independents Deck. I can’t wait to start using it. The Deck looks like a deck of playing cards and contains 52 $10 coupons for lots of Cleveland Independent restaurants.

As the Cleveland Independents website explains:

Imagine being able to save $10 at 52 of your favorite, locally-owned Cleveland Independents restaurants. Each card in The Deck features a $10 special offer from some of Northeast Ohio’s favorite restaurants. No wonder The Deck is ideal for corporate gift-giving or for anyone who loves to explore the area’s many diverse, local flavors.

* Each card features an informative description of the restaurant as well as its special offer
* Each card is a $10 Gift Certificate at the restaurant it describes
* Each card includes the restaurant’s location and phone number.
* Each card is easy to redeem. Present it to your server. It’s that simple!

I promise there will be plenty of posts on the way this year with the help of The Deck. I can’t wait to try Ponte Vecchio and Bistro 185 as well as revisit personal favorites like The Mad Greek, L’Albatros and Luxe Kitchen. If you want your own you can order it here.