"dirty azz bathrooms"

 

I never thought I'd live to see the day...

I like gritty/unique character as much as anyone, but I do not do places with gross bathrooms.

Well I went to the Euc last night.

 

I left angry.

Why? Too clean?

"dirty azz bathrooms"

I never thought I'd live to see the day...

 

eh?

 

and Pope, do tell!  I think you're the first on UrbanOhio to have hit up the new spot!

The problem begins with assuming the name "The Euclid Tavern"

 

-No Orange Juice Containers for Pitchers (asked the bartender, said "normal pitchers are on their way")

-Light Green Walls?

-Plasma TVs?

-The new stage I guess is okay

-Hearing songs such as Creed, Brand New Day and whatever douchebag rock band on the jukebox. You would have never heard those, and especially at such a high crappy volume.

-One of bartenders repeatedly calling me "dude".

-Far too bright

-Clientèle was waaaay off

 

Take all of that into account, If you would have called the place "Joes Bar and Bistro" I'd be fine with it. But assume "The Euc" Name and I find it pretentious. Trying to Compare the two Eucs to the two Grog Shops aren't even close if you ask me. The two Euc's are clearly night and day and uncomparable. Really the only similarities are the back bar and the ceiling. (Which you can see clearly now because its so bright in there)

 

 

^its a sacrilege, isn't it Pope?

I was making the comparison as a best case scenario.  I will take your word for it if the two don't hold a candle to each other!

 

I'm a big juke box snob.  If "Joe's Bar & Bistro's" juke box sucks, they get -10 points.  Reddstone got a deduction from me in this regard.  The owner made some claim about it having a kick-ass juke box before it opened and (as I've posted elsewhere) the first time I walked through the door, I heard a Cher dance track from 1999.  Luckily, the good beer and pizza washed the vomit down nicely...

 

now, what's this about orange juice containers?  do you want them or not want them?  I lost you on that one!

"-One of bartenders repeatedly calling me "dude"."

 

That and "Sir" are two things servers/bartenders should not call me if they want a decent tip.

 

now, what's this about orange juice containers?  do you want them or not want them?  I lost you on that one!

 

The old Euc used to use Old glass quart OJ containers as their pitchers. If you ask anyone about their memories of the Euc, nearly everyone's involves the OJ pitchers. They aren't bringing them back, so I'm a very angry man.

 

You should have seen me with my friends, there, over the course of two beers I got more and more angry, and by the end I was ready to break something.

 

Which reminds me, I gave my card to the bartender saying I wanted to start a tab. He gave the card back to me (thought maybe it was a pre-load tab). When i asked to cash out, the "dude" bartender was like, we don't have a tab for me. They started a tab under my first name (who does that?) and just handed me back my credit card without entering it into the system. I could have walked out without paying a dime, and they would have been busy looking for a "James".

 

 

MayDay I'll take Sir any day over dude, bro, guy, pal, buddy, etc. etc.

 

 

 

glass OJ containers... I see.  Can you tell that I didn't spend a lot of time at the old Euc?  I was 17 when I left Cleveland and it was closed by the time I got back... In fact, the only show I remember seeing there was Tsunami, which was probably in 1997-98.

pope, at my age, I take "dude, bro, etc." as an affirmation that I'm still young, hip and relevant. I don't know that they *mean* it that way, but that's how I take it! :laugh:

pope, at my age, I take "dude, bro, etc." as an affirmation that I'm still young, hip and relevant. I don't know that they *mean* it that way, but that's how I take it! :laugh:

 

I think this chotch calls his mom "dude".

it sounds like they generically irish-bar'd the euc?

 

this is terrible news.

 

it sounds like they generically irish-bar'd the euc?

 

this is terrible news.

 

 

meh, the just generic'd it. With a side of guido hill "charm".

pope, at my age, I take "dude, bro, etc." as an affirmation that I'm still young, hip and relevant. I don't know that they *mean* it that way, but that's how I take it! :laugh:

 

Try walking out of the Bingham with a 31-year-old woman and the security guard wishing her and "Your Dad" a good evening! I'M ONLY 40!!!!

sorry to hear that brosif.

pope, at my age, I take "dude, bro, etc." as an affirmation that I'm still young, hip and relevant. I don't know that they *mean* it that way, but that's how I take it! :laugh:

 

Try walking out of the Bingham with a 31-year-old woman and the security guard wishing her and "Your Dad" a good evening! I'M ONLY 40!!!!

Wow...that's bad. He might just be a punk messing with you.

Went to Bar Cento last night with the wife and baby and loved it!  The food was good, the wine list was great, the decor was fantastic, and the place was quite busy for a Monday night.  That said, there was no wait and we didn't feel cramped with our little one and all her gear.  There were other families with kids there, which didn't feel odd, despite the bar atmosphere.  I guess what I'm getting at is that it felt like a great mix of bar and restaurant in one  space.  With Bier Markt next door and the other great options in the neighborhood, Bar Cento adds yet another winner to the Market Square dining scene.

 

We'll definitely go back!

Stopped in the Market Cafe in Amtrust (Ohio Savings) Plaza on East 9th. Highly recommended - great, light-filled space with multiple seating options from communal "high tops" to bar seating to regular dining. Approximately 5-ish different stations offering pretty much everything under the sun - I grabbed a slice of philly/steak pizza (pretty good) and an order of chickpea salad with tomato, artichoke, and basil (deeee-fricking-lish!).

 

One concern would be the ventilation - with all the food being prepped in the space, had I stayed in my coat would have smelled like my lunch. Only complaint is the clientele: the herds of f#ckingly oblivious lower management types who would stand in the middle of a walkway ensuring no one could escape, or they'd try to walk in one direction with their head completely turned in the other all the while carrying a tray of food they obviously weren't too attached to. Yeah folks, I'm just another person in the world - please let me get out of your way and please don't chuck your soup on me - that's all I ask :-)

I haven't eaten at the Market Cafe yet but I absolutely love that they 1.  did what they did to the space and 2. decided to go there in the first place!!!  It's great to see the faith and optimism that exists within the entrepreneurs of this city and that there's more investment in this city than E. 4th  or whatever the media tells us.  In the grand scheme of things, of course the magnitude of Wolstein's/Stark's/Zaremba's is much greater than one little restaurant but the fact that these people have successfully brightened their corner of a rather stagnant street  gives hope and inspiration to the other vacant or misused storefronts along E.9th and all of the city for that matter.

 

There are so many BIG things about to begin in the city but as we see they take a very long time to come to realization.  We can't discount these small ventures as they show the city's progress on a daily basis. 

 

Sorry I went on there but I remember running downtown one day after work this fall and seeing this bright corner on E.9th and it really caught me off guard! 

 

Oh, and I glad so many of you have had great Bar Cento experiences!  Business has been increasing everyday since we opened and Mondays are busier now than our first few weekends!  Tuesday is the kid's pizza night and Thursday's are becoming their own special night with new themes/events each week. 

Make sure to frequent BC/BM often as the food menu is updated every few weeks or so in addition to a nice rotation of draft beers.  I've also heard that the wine list at BC is going to be updated soon. 

 

I normally host Thursday and Sat. evenings but that's always subject to change!  Just ask for Tom!

I normally host Thursday and Sat. evenings but that's always subject to change!  Just ask for Tom!

 

Are you telling us you give an "urbanohio" discount?   :wink:

If that discount applies to the Bier Markt as well, sign me up yesterday! :drunk:

I'm glad someone else is discovering how great the Market Cafe is.  Me, I went to Crop, which clearly needs some discovery by the downtown lunch crowd as every time I go for lunch there are barely a handful of tables there.  The food is really fantastic and prices are reasonable, I don't know why people aren't going there.  Is it just lack of information?  Most new places generate a lot of interest in my experience.

I adore Crop - all three of my experiences there have been top notch - and I'll second that there have been surprisingly few people there each time...

I'm glad someone else is discovering how great the Market Cafe is.  Me, I went to Crop, which clearly needs some discovery by the downtown lunch crowd as every time I go for lunch there are barely a handful of tables there.  The food is really fantastic and prices are reasonable, I don't know why people aren't going there.  Is it just lack of information?  Most new places generate a lot of interest in my experience.

 

I think they might want to plug their price point a little louder. Looking at their menu, they look to be on par with Metropolitan but for the longest time, that space was always higher-end dining. I imagine people may still think it's as pricey as Johnnys Bistro so they may only consider it for "special occasions".

I adore Crop - all three of my experiences there have been top notch - and I'll second that there have been surprisingly few people there each time...

 

everytime i've been there for dinner on a thurs, fri or saturday, the place has been packed.  i don't really know about the lunch crowds though.

I'm glad someone else is discovering how great the Market Cafe is.  Me, I went to Crop, which clearly needs some discovery by the downtown lunch crowd as every time I go for lunch there are barely a handful of tables there.  The food is really fantastic and prices are reasonable, I don't know why people aren't going there.  Is it just lack of information?  Most new places generate a lot of interest in my experience.

 

I think they might want to plug their price point a little louder. Looking at their menu, they look to be on par with Metropolitan but for the longest time, that space was always higher-end dining. I imagine people may still think it's as pricey as Johnnys Bistro so they may only consider it for "special occasions".

 

I had completely written off that place assuming it was an "occasion/stuffed shirt" dinner place.

This is good to know.  It IS a little more expensive for dinner, along the lines of a Metropolitan as someone else pointed out vs. a diner or something, but to draw a comparison, it's no more than going to a place like Brio, and they are packed every night. But lunch prices line up right along what most other lunch places are with sit-down service, including Lola. 

 

The servers wear jeans and the food is really more simple/humble than frou-frou - today's special was pot pie for example.  It was a slightly more upscale pot pie than normal (had bechamel and lobster in it) but I think that's par for the course at a decent place.  Their most popular dish is a mac and cheese (and it's really just normal - but outstanding - mac & cheese) with tender, moist roast beef on top of it.  But I agree it seems to be perceived as more "dressy" or something - one of the only other tables today included a local celeb of sorts and he and his dining companions were in dressy clothes/suits.  But I don't get why it's being perceived that way.  Interesting.

A good and detailed, recent review of Crop:

 

http://tinyurl.com/232453

^Like I said, I really think the history and proximity with Johnnys plays into that. Johnnys, along with Blue Point, XO, etc. have been the places for a "power lunch" or "special occasion" and it's probably not on Crop's immediate agenda to distance themselves from quality institutions.

 

Just so you know - I think a lot of people on the forum prefer locally-owned spots to places like Brio so you may be preaching to the choir :-). Although I think you might be onto something - we've had forum meets and evening outings - maybe we could try to get some people together for lunch every now and then?

I figured most people were more pro-indie restaurants here, which is great.  I guess I mentioned Brio because people who *aren't* like us tend to argue that a place like Crop is out of their price range for a "normal dinner out" and yet they flock to Brio where they're paying the same thing.  :x

I didn't even know Crop was open. In fact, I walked by there a couple weeks ago with a friend from out of town and told her that if she wanted to take some clients to a restaurant for a power lunch, she should take them here (pointing to what I thought was Johnny's). Now that I know the place is called Crop and that I can afford it, I will check it out.

FYI they are not open for lunch on Mondays.

I found this out the hard way.

 

I know there have been favorable reviews before, but thought I'd throw in my hardy two thumbs up for the Indian restaurant in the Colonial Marketplace as well. (I'm embarrassed I can't think of the name right now, duh). The owners are characters too, in a good way.

I was at Crop over the holidays and thought it was pretty good.  It almost seemed like they were trying to do too much with the food.  Although very flavorful, most things had like a million things in it, to the point that some of the other people with me thought there was too much going on with food.  I chose the walleye, which everybody seemed to like the most. 

It was interesting though and the service was very good.  The martini menu was also interesting.  We tried most of them except for the mushroom martini.  If anyone ever tries that one, please report back on here!  :|    

I know there have been favorable reviews before, but thought I'd throw in my hardy two thumbs up for the Indian restaurant in the Colonial Marketplace as well. (I'm embarrassed I can't think of the name right now, duh). The owners are characters too, in a good way.

 

Indies - and yes, I absolutely love them. The best is when the wife goes into a tirade - I swear she's channeling the Swedish Chef from the Muppets! :laugh:

Kan Zaman

 

Visited the new incarnation of Kan Zaman (W. 25th @ Franklin) yesterday for the lunch buffet.  If you've been to the buffet at the old place, the price is the same ($5.95), but the selection has improved, though the quality is about the same.  If you're only interested in the staples, i.e. hommos, baba, tabbouleh, pita, & fattoush; it's all quite competent. 

however, what has changed is the atmosphere - it's really quite stunning!  the owners said they wanted to make you feel like you were inside a big tent and they i think they've succeeded by using lots of brightly colored festive fabrics on both the ceiling and the upholstery.  roomy seating arrangements with large tables surrounded by  cushioned benches and stools.  they are also ramping up production for a bakery (desserts, spinach/meat pies, pita, etc) and sandwich carry out.

^I can't help but think that a location closer to the West Side Market/center of Ohio City would have been a better idea.  Having to walk by the sea of parking that is Lutheran Hospital and the hovels on the east side of W25th isn't very condusive to walk up traffic.

^Yeah, that strip mall thing is not pretty on the eyes either.  Wonder if they surrendered to the lure of more free parking.

 

I didn't even know Crop was open. In fact, I walked by there a couple weeks ago with a friend from out of town and told her that if she wanted to take some clients to a restaurant for a power lunch, she should take them here (pointing to what I thought was Johnny's). Now that I know the place is called Crop and that I can afford it, I will check it out.

 

Just so there's no confusion, Johnny's Downtown is still open and still there, it was just Johnny's Bistro (next door) that changed to Crop, no?

^Yeah, that strip mall thing is not pretty on the eyes either.  Wonder if they surrendered to the lure of more free parking.

 

I didn't even know Crop was open. In fact, I walked by there a couple weeks ago with a friend from out of town and told her that if she wanted to take some clients to a restaurant for a power lunch, she should take them here (pointing to what I thought was Johnny's). Now that I know the place is called Crop and that I can afford it, I will check it out.

 

Just so there's no confusion, Johnny's Downtown is still open and still there, it was just Johnny's Bistro (next door) that changed to Crop, no?

 

that's correct.

 

And I was JUST going to post on here this morning and ask about Kan Zaman.  That real estate they've moved to must be expensive and I know virtually nothing about their restaurant.  I wonder if they'll make it in that space.

That would be correct.  Same owners as Johnny's still.

I don't believe it's the same owners as Johnny's - that was the case with the Bistro, but not this restaurant.  I think the chef is the owner, his name is Steve something?  Let me look for something on it.

 

Steve Schimoler is the guy.  From a review:  "...owner and chef Steve Schimoler has succeeded in pulling off this free-spirited atmosphere without diminishing the seriousness of the food."

I don't believe it's the same owners as Johnny's - that was the case with the Bistro, but not this restaurant.  I think the chef is the owner, his name is Steve something?  Let me look for something on it.

 

Steve Schimoler is the guy.  From a review:  "...owner and chef Steve Schimoler has succeeded in pulling off this free-spirited atmosphere without diminishing the seriousness of the food."

'

 

but i think that johnnys is a partner as well.  i don't know what percent.

That would make sense given they probably own the space. 

Ah, your right, but I wasnt totally off.....  Partners  Looks like we are fortunate that he stayed in Cleveland!

 

............... This effort---a test kitchen by day and hip restaurant by night---is a joint venture with the owners of downtown Cleveland restaurant, Johnny's.

 

By the age of 23, Schimoler already had his first New York restaurant. Later, he added a bakery, catering company and second restaurant. A gig up north landed the chef in Vermont where he opened the much-admired Mist Grill, a bistro set inside a 200-year-old mill. A job with Nestlé brought Schimoler to Cleveland, and it wasn't long before the restaurant bug once again bit him firm and hard.

 

Partnering with Joe Santosuosso and Paul Anthony, Schimoler adapted the former Johnny's Bistro space into Crop Bistro.

The following story would further explain what I commented about above, about "alot going on with the food"

http://restaurants.clevescene.com/2007-10-24/dining/unusual-suspect/full

"And I was JUST going to post on here this morning and ask about Kan Zaman.  That real estate they've moved to must be expensive and I know virtually nothing about their restaurant.  I wonder if they'll make it in that space."

 

I wouldn't say that the space is that expensive, it was empty for quite some time, and before that it was some dirty barbeque joint.  Just a bad location and an even worse example of urban design.

on kan zaman's move, which the mgmt has said is actually a 2nd location; the original location being relegated to hookahs....

 

regarding the parking, i for one think they jumped on it for that very reason - parking up front.  it's what people expect in the suburbs and a good amount of kan zaman's evening customers will likely come from the burbs. same with latitude 41 on detroit.  i think on-site parking was the draw to that location.

 

parking up front is a symptom of a much larger disease.  what can be done to turn the tide?  i, for one, do not believe that parking garages, no matter how pretty, are the answer.

we've (cleveland) got a bunch of suburban minded developers rebuilding our city....

 

http://citycomfortsblog.typepad.com/cities/urb-anim-illo/urb-to-sub-3.gif

Just so there's no confusion, Johnny's Downtown is still open and still there, it was just Johnny's Bistro (next door) that changed to Crop, no?

 

Thanks for the clarification, Strap!

Kan Zaman

 

Visited the new incarnation of Kan Zaman (W. 25th @ Franklin) yesterday for the lunch buffet.  If you've been to the buffet at the old place, the price is the same ($5.95), but the selection has improved, though the quality is about the same.  If you're only interested in the staples, i.e. hommos, baba, tabbouleh, pita, & fattoush; it's all quite competent. 

however, what has changed is the atmosphere - it's really quite stunning!  the owners said they wanted to make you feel like you were inside a big tent and they i think they've succeeded by using lots of brightly colored festive fabrics on both the ceiling and the upholstery.  roomy seating arrangements with large tables surrounded by  cushioned benches and stools.  they are also ramping up production for a bakery (desserts, spinach/meat pies, pita, etc) and sandwich carry out.

 

Just out of curiosity, and I doubt it but I'll ask anyway, but does  Kan Zaman have anything to do with the closed restaurant named Kan Zaman that was located in the Oakland Mall in Troy, Michigan? I never got a chance to try it, as it closed by the time I had an opportunity to go back after first seeing it.