Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Corky & Lenny's - Eastside Institution

While I don't do Delis very often, my brother was in town for business and Corky & Lenny's was the place we decided on for lunch. A convenient location, a wide variety of food and large portions of meaty products have always been a favorite. Having been around for over a half century, Corky & Lenny's has been providing deli to the Eastside of Cleveland for as long as I can remember. Originally located in Cedar Center, C&L created a branch at I-271 and Chagrin in Woodmere Village and has since moved all its operations there (map is here). C&L has a modern feel with bright colors and modern fixtures. Coming in the door, you walk past the bakery and deli counters where take out is available. Seated at one of the tables (large booths are also available) service is brisk and straightforward. One of the charms of C&L over the years has been the wait staff, these are professional servers who are driven more by speed, efficiency and turnover then charm. This does not mean that they may not be friendly, just don't expect it. The menu is large and diverse (go here) although in all my years I have never gone far from the deli or dairy portions. The range of the menu and the look of the dining room seem to have C&L as the Cleveland version of the East Coast Diner. This trip I kept it simple, just a whitefish salad sandwich on Kaiser Roll. The sandwich was just what you would want, the whitefish salad was wonderful with a smokey, salty taste which set off the rich texture. Complimented simply with lettuce, tomato and red onion, this is an enjoyable delight. C&L provides good straight forward food in good sized portions, certainly not the cheapest place in town, you can get out for about $10 or so per person, depending on what you get. While I don't think I have ever heard anyone argue that C&L has the best corned beef in town, they certainly do manage to serve a lot of food to a lot of people. Maybe not a high recommendation from me, but then deli is not really my thing, you certainly could do a lot worse the Corky & Lenny's for a meal. If you have been to Corky & Lenny's you probably already have a strong opinion one way or the other, if you have not, you should give it a try as it is a Cleveland institution and something you should at least experience once.

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