^I'll drink to that! In all seriousness I think the intentions are good but I don't care for places that have to spell out their appeal like that.

I'm not sure it is replacing chucks. Chucks used to be where deweys is. I think the last tenant was reverb and doughboys before that.

Well, if he's purposely trying to lure AA meetings and people trying to get sober before going home, the name makes sense to me. I think it's obviously the flagpole he wants to put out there and the point of him opening the place.

So I just got back from lunch at the Club Sober - just a couple of impressions.

 

There is metered parking lot adjacent to the restaurant and free parking on the residential street on the other side.

 

The place is pretty small on the outside and not much bigger once you're in.  You're greeted with a narrow, cramped bar area once you enter with a few tables off to the side.  Take a left by the jukebox at the end, and you'll see about a dozen booths and tables in room.  It's seat yourself.

 

The place has a dirty feel to it.  It could use a paint job for sure. 

 

The food is pretty inexpensive - I mean, we're talking about 4 or 5 bucks for a full breakfast plate, $1-$2 for side dishes (like an order of eggs or bacon) while the dinner food is a few extra dollars.  The coffee was better than expected; the food was damn filling (everyone in my party took some food home), and the waitress was exceptionally friendly, always filling our coffee, making light and not forced conversation.  The food was a bit greasy but it was breakfast food after all.  I did mean to get a smoothie for desert ($1.85 for a small - take that Tommy's!) but was too full.

 

This place was dead.  I'm guessing it's a different atmosphere at night, especially late night,  but it was pretty empty while we were there.  The waitress also said they're looking to expand to 24 hours.  Hey, good luck guys!

 

Overall, the food was cheap, good enough, and the waitress was friendly.  I wouldn't really go out of my way to go back - there really was nothing all that special about the place, kind of a dive joint - but it was fine for a quick brunch. 

 

 

Well, I finally made it to Sokolowski's in Tremont. I wished I had gone sooner! A friend and I had lunch there today and we thought we were due for some food comas considering the huge portions of food. Surprisingly I made through my work day without falling asleep at the computer.

 

I didn't realize the food was served cafeteria style! I had the beef with mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll. My friend had the chicken with mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and a roll. We both loved our meals, and cleaned our plates.

 

But the culture of the place is awesome. I loved the fact that polka music was playing while we were in line and, behind us, were polka music CDs for purchase. The decor is outstanding -- certainly something a Polish grandfather's basement in the 1970s could be proud of! And the fact that a group of men in front of us in line spoke Polish almost exclusively says something about the authenticity of the food and cultural experience that it draws people who apparently immigrated from Poland recently.

 

BTW, one year ago this week I was in Warsaw, Poland, so it's appropos that I visited Sokolowski's for the first time today. I certainly recommend stopping over at Sokolowski's to keep it busy during the Inner Belt bridge construction. We don't want to lose this Cleveland institution to a highway project!

a little thing that always stood out for me at sokolowskis were the house bottle sodas with interesting flavors like green apple. not sure if they do that anymore, but i hope so!

Well, I finally made it to Sokolowski's in Tremont. I wished I had gone sooner! A friend and I had lunch there today and we thought we were due for some food comas considering the huge portions of food. Surprisingly I made through my work day without falling asleep at the computer.

 

Wow, I can't believe you've never been there before.  I'm glad you made it and liked it.  It's definitely an institution for a reason.

 

Approximately 99% of my visits there have been for dinner on Saturdays, so I don't know what it's like on weekdays for lunch, but the culture of the place is great on Saturday evenings as well.  A lot of people make their way over after church at St. John Cantius (the nearby Polish parish) and it gets quite busy.  Also, in the large dining room (the Frontier Room I believe it's called) there is a man that is always playing the piano.  It's worth a visit some time for dinner.

The waitress also said they're looking to expand to 24 hours.

 

Is their food better than Denny's or Steak and Shake?  (I sure hope so.)  Because other than those two, I can't think of another place to get food at 3 am other than the Shack on the Tracks.  I hope they do well.

I don't know about Steak and Shake, but it's no better or worse than Denny's. 

Wow, I can't believe you've never been there before. I'm glad you made it and liked it. It's definitely an institution for a reason.

 

I've gone there twice during weekday evenings but was surprised to see it was closed both times. So I was surprised to find the door unlocked today. ;)

they're only open for dinner on Friday nights. At least that used to be the schedule. They're really mostly a lunch place.

That explains why I've never been there before.

they're only open for dinner on Friday nights. At least that used to be the schedule. They're really mostly a lunch place.

 

They're open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, and lunch Monday through Friday.

fyi...

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/19/cleveland-independents-gift-certificate-sale-tomorrow

<A Href="http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/20/cleveland-boasts-three-of-the-top-100-beer-bars-in-america"> Cleveland Boasts Three of the Top 100 Beer Bars in America </A>

 

No surprise then that when Draft Magazine unfurled the 2011 version of their "America's Best Beer Bars" list, three Cleveland haunts took home some boozy recognition.

 

Fresh Water Cleveland breaks down the honorees:

 

Lakewood's Buckeye Beer Engine gets billing as "The casual drinker's answer to Ohio's beer-snob bars." Who knew we had beer-snob bars? This west-side gem gets credit for its Buckeye Brewing house brews, lesser-known options from well-known breweries, and two beer engines that dispense real-ale specialties

 

Cleveland Heights landmark La Cave du Vin also makes the list, with the list-makers urging folks to "Ignore the vinous name: This basement wine spot's beer paradise." While The Cave gets approval for its large bottle and draft selection, it receives special attention for its frequent seasonal tappings and brewery nights. Tip: "The owner's rare beer collection on the shelves will leave you jaw-droppingly awestruck."

 

Ohio City's Bier Markt naturally earned inclusion, with the mag calling the joint nothing less than a "Cleveland institution.

 

^^La Cave du Vin is my favorite bar on the eastside -- Thanks !

 

 

Chauncy and 'Ryan Dunn' are definitely good dudes - I'll have to mention the ranking next time i'm at Coventry

So I have been debating posting about this for a few days.  I would hate to drive away business from the place, but feel it is important to illustrate that there are risks to being urban pioneers.

 

On Tuesday evening, I went to Banana Blossom with my girlfriend.  There were two couples and a single man there when we arrived, but they soon left.  We ordered appetizers of spring rolls and edamame which were both delicious.  Our server took the dishes away to the kitchen and point we were the only two people in the room. 

 

A man with a ski mask came in the restaurant, pulled out a gun, and pointed it at my head.  After a tense 30 seconds (seemed like an eternity), he left with our wallets.  I called 911 and the police arrived in less than 5 minutes.  Within 10 minutes, there were half a dozen patrol cars outside.  I'm sure the guy was long gone and I couldn't provide a description past mask and a hooded black coat.

 

After giving our statements to the police, our entrees came out.  They were both good, but we only nibbled at them and had them boxed up.  We did get dinner for free, but then again we had no means of paying. 

 

For the past ten years I have lived in Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, and currently Ohio City and have never had a first hand experience with crime.  I feel that while this was an unfortunate incident, it was also isolated and unlikely to occur again.  The answer to the problem is not to shy away in fear, but to bring more people into the area so there is less room for the thugs to operate.

 

Keep exploring, but stay safe.

Sorry to hear that, at least you guys weren't hurt.

God, that sounds horrible.  Glad you weren't hurt.

 

 

Chef's Garden of Huron provides a taste of Ohio to White House State Dinner

Published: Thursday, January 20, 2011, 5:54 PM    Updated: Friday, January 21, 2011, 9:12 AM

Janet Cho, The Plain Dealer By Janet Cho, The Plain Dealer

 

HURON, Ohio - Diners at the State Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao got a side of Ohio herbs and veggies with their poached Maine lobster and Idaho smoked trout.

 

The double-stuffed potatoes served with the dry-aged rib eye on Wednesday's menu came straight from the 300-acre Jones family farm in Huron, on the shores of Lake Erie.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/chefs_garden_of_huron_provides.html

 

This guy is the man, his food sounds amazing.  Cleveland Foodie had a good interview with him recently.

That's just terrible BK.  I doubt there's anything anyone can do to prevent something like this happening. I'm so glad you guys are ok and really hope this is not the beginning of a trend.

Update on Mint Cafe: It re-opened this past week under a new name (High Thai'd - ugh, sounds like a cheesy chain restaurant name) and new management.  Some of the former employees of Mint Cafe re-opened the place.  The menu is nearly identical to Mint's old menu, with only a few additions here and there (Pho, for one).  We ordered from there over the weekend, and the food seems just as good as before (other friends who ordered felt the same way).  Website's up and running at www.highthai.com.  Good to see this place back up and running in the nieghborhood.  Like others, I've heard that the former owners just got tired of running back and forth between their restaurants and decided to just go with the Pepper Pike location.

Update on Mint Cafe: It re-opened this past week under a new name (High Thai'd - ugh, sounds like a cheesy chain restaurant name) and new management.  Some of the former employees of Mint Cafe re-opened the place.  The menu is nearly identical to Mint's old menu, with only a few additions here and there (Pho, for one).  We ordered from there over the weekend, and the food seems just as good as before (other friends who ordered felt the same way).  Website's up and running at www.highthai.com.  Good to see this place back up and running in the nieghborhood.  Like others, I've heard that the former owners just got tired of running back and forth between their restaurants and decided to just go with the Pepper Pike location.

 

Was anything super spicy/hot and had any heat?  Not pedestrian "hot", but seriously kicking ass heat??

Was anything super spicy/hot and had any heat? Not pedestrian "hot", but seriously kicking ass heat??

 

Did you ever order 7 stars spicy at the old Mint Cafe?  If the new one uses the same scale, 7 stars is "seriously kicking ass heat".

Was anything super spicy/hot and had any heat?  Not pedestrian "hot", but seriously kicking ass heat??

 

Did you ever order 7 stars spicy at the old Mint Cafe?  If the new one uses the same scale, 7 stars is "seriously kicking ass heat".

 

I ordered some curry dish, I can't remember which one.  I guess I'll have to stop by, now that they are under new management.

I ordered some curry dish, I can't remember which one. I guess I'll have to stop by, now that they are under new management.

 

Did you order it "7 stars spicy" though?  They let you specify your heat level.  The menu says 1, 2, or 3 stars, but they told me they can go to 7.  I like my food hot, but I stick with 5 stars.  I imagine 7 has to be extremely spicy (most people I know that go there think 2 stars is hot).

 

If you didn't specify, you probably got it as 2 stars (I think that's the hottest item "by default" on the menu).

I ordered some curry dish, I can't remember which one.  I guess I'll have to stop by, now that they are under new management.

 

Did you order it "7 stars spicy" though?  They let you specify your heat level.  The menu says 1, 2, or 3 stars, but they told me they can go to 7.  I like my food hot, but I stick with 5 stars.  I imagine 7 has to be extremely spicy (most people I know that go there think 2 stars is hot).

 

If you didn't specify, you probably got it as 2 stars (I think that's the hottest item "by default" on the menu).

 

Honestly I dont remember.  Like I've mentioned before, when I order food I tell them something along the lines of "hot as hot get get" or "super spicy hot"

Honestly I dont remember. Like I've mentioned before, when I order food I tell them something along the lines of "hot as hot get get" or "super spicy hot"

 

I tell them I like it very hot, and they still say "are you sure?" and "it's going to be very hot" even when I explicitly tell them 4 or 5 stars.  If you didn't force them to give it to you 7 stars, I highly doubt they did.

Last night, I went to Fracas in Coventry on a whim with a few people.  Just a few thoughts.

 

It's a very different kind of environment - upscale eating in what's obviously a movie theater with a giant bar cutting through the middle.  Also, the $4 valet parking outside was an interesting visual, especially when the place looks abandoned from the outside. 

 

While the actual restaurant has been cleaned up and looks...upscale even with a giant theater screen at the end, the area where the hostess was working (at the old ticket counter/former pizzarria in that shared common space with the stairwell) looked pretty grimy and dirty.  When the Bad News Theater (or whatever it's called) moves in, they, the hookah place, and Fracas really need to get their act together and make the entrance less trashy.  Maybe even rebuild it from scratch, I dunno.

 

There weren't too many people sitting at tables, though the bar itself had a pretty steady flow of patrons.  Again, the bar pretty much cuts through the entire restaurant, and so you have people dressed up a bit for dinner and those in regular clothes at the bar all commingling. 

 

A live band was playing which was a nice touch, though we weren't sure how loud to speak.  In a restaurant like that, you tend to speak relatively softly; but with live bands, you tend to speak louder.  Plus people don't generally whisper by bars.  So our volumes kept fluctuating since we just couldn't tell what was appropriate there. 

 

The waitress said they're eventually going to have dinner theater nights and movie nights at a later date. She was very friendly though the busboy tried to rush us out (trying to take someone's plate away when there was clearly quite a bit left). Oh, and there were few tables occupied as it was.  Maybe he just left his brain home that moment.

 

The food is a bit expensive but that's the whole point.  We got a bottle of red (don't know much about wine, but it was delicious), shared some calamari (way too fried), and had a couple salads and some soup for me, which were pretty good.  It really wasn't meant to be a meal meal, but once you're there, eh, you feel like ordering at least something.     

 

For dessert we got some bourbon creme brulee and another dish.  Something cream-filled like a cannolli.  Really good.

 

And that's Fracas.  A pretty good place overall, and it's nice to have upperscale eating at Coventry. 

 

 

photo slide show: a restaurant in the making

Bob Perkoski Thursday, January 27, 2011

 

XYZ Tavern

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/xyztavern012711.aspx

Dear BK,

My name is Amy Visatsud, one of the owners of Banana Blossom. I wanted you to know how terribly sorry we are that this happened to you and let you know what action we are taking. Tuesday I met with the Safety Director of the Ohio City Near West Development Corp and the police Commander of the second district to discuss this and what we can do to keep our customers safe. We are going to start implementing some new security measures. Please email me wed like to give you a gift card. I completely understand if you are hesistant to visit us again soon-we have a delivery service and you can use the card that way. Our deepest apologies, Amy and Montri Visatsud  [email protected]

Very excited for this to open...

 

http://marketgardenbrewery.com/

photo slide show: a restaurant in the making

Bob Perkoski Thursday, January 27, 2011

 

XYZ Tavern

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/xyztavern012711.aspx

 

This is another fantastic development for my "almost" neighborhood Detroit-Shoreway.

 

My only complaint is the drywall over that interesting bricked over doorway in the spare room.

 

Anyhow, Randy and Linda are truly wonderful people, I know they'll succeed once again!!!

 

Thanks for posting.

My name is Amy Visatsud, one of the owners of Banana Blossom....

 

Amy--do you guys have cameras? Sounds like an isolated incident, but cameras are sometimes good deterrents for crime.

The Cleveland area had 3 Brewpubs in the top 50 of RateBeer's Top Brewpubs in THE WORLD. 

 

http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/table_2011.asp?title=Best+Brewpubs+2011&file=brewpubs_places_2011.csv

 

#7 Beer Engine

#21 Brew Kettle

#49 Fat Heads

^? Arent they missing one?

Very excited for this to open...

 

http://marketgardenbrewery.com/

 

No joke.  I see they've added some great photos since I last looked.  I love how they show the google streetview of their location with a straight face.

I checked out The CoffeePot in Lakewood today.  Awesome potatoes!  Good omlette, overall, I recommend it!

^Totally agree.  Best hashbrowns in the city.

I checked out The CoffeePot in Lakewood today.  Awesome potatoes!  Good omlette, overall, I recommend it!

 

Yep, I the Coffee Pot.

Flaming Ice Cube is today's Cleveland Groupon! Great deal!

http://www.groupon.com/cleveland/

 

 

Stone Mad restaurant in Gordon Square getting menu help from Momocho's Eric Williams

Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 3:59 PM    Updated: Wednesday, February 02, 2011, 9:37 AM

Joe Crea, The Plain Dealer By Joe Crea, The Plain Dealer

Follow

 

Big changes are in the wind for one of the West Side's most remarkable spots. Stone Mad, the beautifully appointed restored house in Cleveland's Gordon Square neighborhood, will have two new chefs at the helm -- including Eric Williams, maestro behind mod-Mex Momocho.

 

"Actually, I'll just be a hired hand for a couple of months," says Williams, who's being brought in by Stone Madd co-owner Eileen Sammon to tune up the operation. Together, Williams and Sammon worked to pinpoint problems and changes they thought necessary.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/dining/index.ssf/2011/02/stone_mad_getting_menu_help_fr.html

Just saw on the Dim and Den Sum facebook page that they will not be moving into the W.25th street space. I believe they will be setting up shop in Lakewood.

Just saw on the Dim and Den Sum facebook page that they will not be moving into the W.25th street space. I believe they will be setting up shop in Lakewood.

 

Where did you get the Lakewood info?  They dont mention that in their post.

http://www.facebook.com/dimndensum

I was just rereading through their comments and they will be meeting about a Lakewood location. Not a final decision yet. Sorry.

dang, I wonder what happened with the 25th street location?

Its strange that he said they would have had to sacrifice majority shares of the company to locate in the Grind space.  At first I thought maybe it was the ABC/XYZ people he was breaking with, but then in the comments (that now seem to be deleted) he said he was still looking forward to working with ABC/XYZ.  Maybe the landlord at Grind wanted a huge cut of revenue?  Majority seems crazy, though. 

 

Oh well, looking forward to having them in Lakewood.  The only spots I can think of that are empty are the Maria's space and the new space on the corner of Warren/Detroit.   

Anyone have any reccomendations for Chinese in Lakewood?

Anyone have any reccomendations for Chinese in Lakewood?

 

It's strictly a delivery/carry-out place, but my fave is:

 

China Star - 3283 West 117th Street, Cleveland - (216) 251-5551

 

Stop in first for carry-out and a menu. It's located behind the businesses that front the NE corner of West 117 and Lorain. Google has it marked just a little too far north by about a half-block.

 

P.S., I also hear Panda Wok is pretty good but I've never been. They are on the Lakewood side of West 117th, located next to Mr. Hero north of Franklin Blvd. Here is their website (with a menu/prices on it).....

 

www.pandawoklakewood.com

Vine and Bean on Larchmere (shaker square'ish)  was awesome last night. Great food and drink (though a tad pricy) and I loved the ambiance.