Jimmy John's - Sandwhich Chain

If you have been paying attention, Jimmy John's shops have started popping up around Cleveland; the first one I saw was on Coventry and there is a new one on Richmond between Harvard and Miles. I figured why not give them a try, so I stopped by the Richmond store. First off, I find the menu a bit confusing at JJ (see here), instead of offering different sizes they offer the same ingredients in 3 different variations: a slim (without vegies or sauce), sub (regular) or giant club (double meat and cheese). Since it only was about a $1 more I got the Tuna Club. I find it hard to believe that the Club was double the tuna of a regular sub, since this would mean that the regular sub has not a lot of tuna. Overall the sandwich was good, but I would not describe it as gourmet. The tuna was ok, with a good firm consistency, although I missed the celery and onion that is supposed to be mixed in according to the menu. The bread was good, but not outstanding, firm but not as crusty as I would have liked. The provolone was probably the best part of the sandwich, thin sliced with a good flavor that contrasted nicely with the mild tuna. The other topping were what you would expect, fresh vegies without anything distinctive. To my taste, the JJ sandwich was a good sub, but not terribly distinctive, I would have done better stopping at either Grums (review here) or at Dibella's (review here), both of which deliver better bread and better and more varied toppings, even if the price is higher the value is better.

Caballo Bayo - CLOSED

UPDATED 6/24/2010 - I was by Caballo Bayo and apparently they are out of business.

Back in November I tried and really liked Caballo Bayo (see the review here) and I have managed to get back a couple of times for lunch. On Saturday after a rousing game of mini-golf (yes my life is that darned exciting) we had a group of about 12 or so go to Caballo Bayo for a late dinner. The food was very good, but the service suffered. First let me say that they had a table ready for us and that our server was very friendly and tried very hard; unfortunately she didn't seem to be able to get this big of a table organized and the kitchen did not do much to help her. It probably would have been better if they had assigned two servers to the table. I don't want to get into all of the problems, a lot of it was getting the food out in timely manner to the whole table, getting only partial orders and just not enough planning and follow up. As an example a number of people got fajitas and while that was the food that came out first, the fajitas sat there getting cold while they had to wait for the side plates with all of the accouterments, tortillas and plates on which to eat to arrive at the table, easily solved by making sure these things were out before the fajitas themselves came out. One thing that struck me as funny; the dinner fajitas were very large portions, with a lot of fresh veggies cooked with the meat or chicken, however they were served with just two small flour tortillas each, barely enough to make a dent in the pile of food. More tortillas were brought, but it just seemed to be bad portioning to start with. In the end we all got fed and the food was very good, the portions were large and while a bit put off by the service, everyone ended up happy. Caballo Bayo remains a recommended place to get some good Mexican food, I would just avoid taking a large party on a Friday or Saturday night. They have a website at http://www.caballo-bayo.com/.

Souper Market

I was out in Lakewood and wanted to get a quick meal so I stopped in the Souper Market at 14809 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, OH 44107; this is the 2nd location for SM, the first is in Ohio City at 2528 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113. Souper Market deals up soups and salads. The Lakewood location is a small store front in the middle of downtown Lakewood, it does have a counter with some stools, so you can eat there or take out. I ended up picking up a bowl of the Cream of Asparagus and Crab soup and a Greek Salad. The Crab and Asparagus Cream Soup was good, just the right thickness, creamy without being too dense. It had a good quantity of crab meat, but seemed a little light on the asparagus. While nice it seemed a bit underseasoned to my taste; while the cream base was good I didn't get enough flavor from the crab and asparagus and there was no contrast of any kind. The salad was made to order and was very good, fresh greens with tomatoes, feta, onions and pepprochinis topped with a very good garlic herb vinaigrette (I had them leave off the olives). The greens were fresh and crisp, with the feta and the dressing providing good flavor compliments. With the soup you get a big hunk of very good crusty bread; the perfect compliment for both the soup and salad. Souper Market makes soups from scratch using quality ingredients, I have found that some of the seasonings is a bit mild to my tastes, but it is worth giving it a try.

Big Egg - Cleveland Breakfast Spot

So you have probably heard that the Big Egg is once again open. After being closed down about 7 years ago and then becoming a Vietnamese restaurant for a while, new owners have taken over and reopened the Big Egg in its original location at 5107 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH 44102. Since I never made it to the Big Egg in its original run, I figured I would give it a try and see what it has to offer. First a couple of notes, while the original Big Egg was famous for being open 24/7, this current version is open Monday -Saturday 6:00am-9:00pm, Sunday 6:00am-3:00pm. The Egg shaped menus are back, but the Egg shaped sign out front is gone. The Big Egg is a fairly large space, divided into 2 rooms with plenty of tables and booths. The decor is fairly generic, clean and light but not terribly memorable, about the only thing that stood out to me was the fancy chandelier in the other room which seemed out of place with everything else. Service was fast and friendly, what you would hope for in a breakfast setting. The one thing I did not like, but understand is that there are no substitutions allowed for the breakfast specials. In addition to the breakfast menu that is available all day, the Big Egg offers breakfast specials during breakfast hours; these are the same items on the menu at reduced prices. I went with the 2 eggs with hashbrowns ($2.29) and the 3 pancakes ($2.99); the prices are certainly welcome and you can fill up at very affordable prices. The eggs came out cooked over medium as ordered and were good sized and not at all greasy, the hashbrowns were nice, thinly grated potatoes with a good crisp. The pancakes were good sized and fluffy. Although everything was well cooked, it all seemed to lack a certain pizazz; it was a good and filling breakfast, but I not the kind worth making a trip to get. Part of this may have been the choice of syrup for the pancakes, in this case Hungry Jack bottled syrup which just seemed to lack any real distinctive flavor. In addition to breakfast items, the Big Egg offers a large menu of other items, quite a few with a Greek heritage. The new Big Egg is clean, service is good and prices are a value for the amount of food you get, still it all seems to lack a certain something. Worth going to instead of Denny's or if you are in the area, however not worth making a big effort, for me there are better and tastier breakfast options.

The Boneyard - Mayfield Heights Playground

So its Monday and I remembered that The Boneyard has a $5 pizza special so I thought I would check it out. The Boneyard at 5900 Mayfield in Mayfield Heights is located in an old movie theater and it offers probably the best East Side arcade/bar/restaurant set up. Kind of similar to Dave and Busters, but with a bit different decor. You enter in the back and there are three main choices: there is the extensive game room with plenty of different games ranging from the latest video games to more traditional skee ball and other games for kids to win prizes by collecting tickets; there is the bar area with a big central bar and tables all facing the big screen TVs; and the upstairs dining area which also overlooks the big screens. To go with the Boneyard name, there are plenty of funky scull and skeleton designs around and the atmospere is relaxed and kind of hip. The menu is the same in the bar and the restaurant and offers a good variety of items, including some fairly unique offerings such as pierogis, and an appetizer of a big bowl of Lucky Charms. But I was here to try the pizza; the Monday deal is that after 3:00pm you can get a one item pizza for $5. So I ordered up a mushroom pizza and watched the sports shows while I waited. The pizzas are a 9" thin crust variety, cut into 6 pieces, not a bad buy for $5, but not sensational. The crust is a nice combination of crisp outside and chewy inside, but it does have a tendency to sag in the middle, not much rise on the outer crust. The sauce is a bright slightly sweet classic tomato sauce put on in about the right amount. The cheese gives a good covering and is cooked nicely, a bit on the mild side. The mushrooms were ok, but I was disapointed in how few mushrooms were on the pizza, I really didn't get much flavor off of them. Overall the pizza was pleasant, if a bit bland and for $5 not a bad deal, but not sensational, I won't be heading back for this any time soon. I will of course think of hitting the Boneyard when we need to play the video games and it seems to be one of the more happening bars in the area.

Paninis Grill - Overstuffed Sandwiches

So as I mentioned in my review of Primanti Brothers I wanted to get to Panini's to do a direct comparison of the two Overstuffed Sandwiches. So after a hike at Penitentiary Glen this weekend, we headed over to the Panini's in Willoughby. Panini's has clearly followed the model set by Primanti Brothers, the overstuffed sandwiches with fries and coleslaw inside, the sports bar like feel and the overall menu are very similar. And I do have to note here one of my real problems with Panini's; in trying to find a name similar to Primanti, they came up with an Italian sounding name that starts with a P, good enough, except for the fact that there are NO PANINI SANDWICHES ON THE MENU. For those who do not know, a Panini is an Italian sandwich which is cooked on a panini press that compresses and cooks the sandwich, usually leaving very distinctive grill lines in the bread. When done right they are delicious and my panini press is a favorite item in my kitchen. Unfortunately, instead of actually offering these gems, Panini's decided to use the name only and offer a copy of the Primanti's sandwich. I understand that we as Americans believe in taking every other food culture and bastardizing it to suit American tastes, but at least come somewhat close to what you are copying, don't just redefine the meaning of a term. Rant over for now. For those who haven't been to a Panini's Grill, it is a restaurant/ sports bar set up with pretty good food and a pretty good decor. I haven't been to the Willoughby location since the expansion and I have to say they did a really good job. They have added an outdoor Tiki bar out back and to link it to the original dining room, they have also added a new bar/seating area with high ceilings and lots of glass; very nice with an island theme and a good open feeling. The menu is striking similar to that offered by Primanti's, although they have fewer options in the overstuffed sandwhiches, they do offer the option of the regular sandwich or the regular sandwich for $5.99 or the jumbo for $7.99. Figuring the price at Primanti's was closer to the regular, I went with a regular Tuna overstuffed. When the sandwich came it had the now familiar overstuffed stack: two slices of thick Italian bread, tuna salad, french fries, tomato and cheese. Lets go through the sandwich layer by layer. The bread was a very good Italian, I'm guessing from Orlando and I think it was better than the Primanti bread, although not by that much. The main difference was that the Panini's bread was a bit denser, although it still ended up falling apart, it at least gave some resistance. The tuna salad was a bit too moist for my taste, it ended up being a bit soupy, a real liability in a sandwich like this where it kept falling out the sides. The fries were good, hand cut and fried to a nice crisp, compared to Primanti, the fries at Panini's were a bit crisper, but the Primanti fries had a bit more potato flavor. The coleslaw was a major disappointment at Panini's, there was none of the sweet and sour notes that made the Primanti slaw so good, instead it was a rather bland although crisp heap of cabbage. The tomato slice was there and I am not even sure if there was a slice of provolone on the sandwich or not. The portion sizes were good, although I think that Primanti's was more generous with the fries and slaw. My overall impression was that the Primanti Brothers sandwich was far superior, with more distinct and pronounced flavors; although the crisp fries and the bread at Panini's were very good, they were not enough to overcome the better tuna and the far superior slaw that Primanti offers. My recommendation is that while Panini offers a pretty good sandwich, and a very good value at the price, Primanti Brothers offers a much more flavorful and filling offering, of course you have to head down to Pittsburgh to get it so there is that downside. Of course your taste may differ and I just compared the tuna sandwiches, the quality of the meats used could make a huge difference in the other sandwiches, so give them a try and let me know what you think. My choice is that Primanti is the clear winner with Panini's a clear imitation.

Trip to South Florida

I wanted to post some thoughts from my trip to South Florida to visit family and friends. I managed to get out and eat at quite a few different places and thought I would let you know some of what I observed. Despite being in a great location to get fresh seafood and produce, I was not overly impressed with any of the places I ate, I thought that I have had better food in Cleveland. Now I will admit that I was in Boca Raton and not Miami, but given all we have heard I expected better. I was especially surprised to see the amount of clams and lobsters brought in from New England on so many menus; why not use what is local and fresh? I ate at a couple of chain restaurants and while they were pretty good, I still prefer to find locally owned restaurants and to support them. We had dinner one night at Carrabba's Italian Grill http://www.carrabbas.com/index.aspx which has locations in the Cleveland area in Brooklyn and Westlake. We started with Calamari which was a big portion of well fried pieces with marinara. Well overall good, I found it to be a bit boring and I like my squid. The Caesar salad was overdressed, but the dressing was good. I had the Linguini Pescatore, which is mussels, shrimp and scallops in a spicey marinara sauce over linguini noodles. While the pasta and sauce were good, I found that the shrimp and scallops, while big, were a bit overcooked; the mussels were the best part of the dish. Overall my impression of Carrabbas was that it was a nice place and the food was pretty good and reasonably priced, but it just seemed to lack any real flair. I also had dinner at a true Florida institution, Hooters http://www.hooters.com/. While always subject to ridicule, I have liked Hooters when they were located in Mentor. Unfortunately the closest locations now are in Toledo or Columbus. I actually find Hooters to have pretty good food, especially the seafood. I have enjoyed the fish sandwhich many times and this time I had the Daytona Shrimp, which were an interesting and tasty take on BBQ shrimp. As always the place is fun and the scenery is good. We did manage to hit some different ethnic spots. We ate at a nice Cuban restaurant in Deerfield Beach called Little Havana http://www.littlehavanarestaurant.com/. I had a good time visiting with friends, drinking some fruity rum drink and enjoying some well prepared seafood and rice. Makes me wish we had a Cuban restaurant around C-Town. We also went to one of the popular chinese restaurants in the area, the Silver Pond in Lauderdale Lakes (see a review here). The restaurant was busy and we had to wait for about 1/2 hour. In the end while the food was good, it seemed a bit unseasoned to me and I thought that it does not measure up to the food we get at many of the places in Cleveland's Asiatown, including Bo Loong. Glad to be back in Ohio and once Passover is over I will try to get some new reviews up; till then everyone have a good Passover, a Happy Easter or just an enjoyable start to Spring.

Primanti Brothers - Pittsburgh's One Worthy Contribution

As a true Browns fan I hate to give any credit to Pittsburgh, but I flew out of the Pittsburgh airport for my recent trip to South Florida and got another couple of chances to stop at Primanti Brothers for some excellent grub. I made two stops (lunch leaving and coming home) at the Primanti Brothers restaurant in Moon, PA, right next to the airport and I have to admit that their food is good. For those who are unfamiliar with Primanti Brothers, if you have been to a Pannini's location in the Cleveland area you will get an idea since Pannini's basically copied what Primanti has been doing for a very long time. Based around their sandwiches with coleslaw and french fries in the sandwich, Primanti offers good food at affordable prices in a sports bar setting. For my first lunch I had a Tuna Sandwich. The tuna is loaded onto thick cut Italian bread and then topped with a heap of coleslaw, french fries, tomato slices and provolone cheese. The tuna was great, simply prepared with a little mayo. The coleslaw, which has a vinegar dressing, was a great contrast with a crispness and tartness yet just enough sweetness to make it sing. The fries are fresh cut and come out hot and overflowing from the sandwich. As a whole this was an exceptional sandwich, big, flavorful and more than filling. About the only complaint I had was that the bread, although thick cut, could not stand up to all the fillings, making it a bit hard to eat by hand. At $6.29 it is a very good deal. Primanti offers the option to get a slice of pizza for $1.25 with any sandwich and I decided to give it a try and I was very happy I did. The slice was nicely sized and came out piping hot and fresh. This was a very traditional pizza, but it was almost perfectly executed. The crust was thin but crisp, with enough stiffness to be picked up with no sagging; the bottom was dusted with corn meal to keep it from burning in the pizza oven and adds a nice little extra note. The sauce was nice, with good tomato flavor and thinly spread so the cheese could adhere to the crust properly. The cheese was good, providing a nice even coat without being overly thick and had a nice little cheesey twang to it. This slice reminds me of why I really like pizza, it is a balancing act of all of the elements to make something flavorful and satisfying. Lunch on my way home was the Colossal Fish and Cheese sandwich. For $6.99 you get an really big piece of fish, nicely fried and then topped with the same toppings as above. The fish was very good, flavorful and fresh and worked even better with the toppings then the tuna. The amount of food on this sandwich was staggering and I was more then filled by the time I was done. Other then being located in the Pittsburgh area and having all sorts of Pittsburgh sports paraphenalia, Primanti Brothers is a real winner and well worth your time if you are any where nearby. You can check on the various locations at http://www.primantibrothers.com/. I will try to get to one of the Pannini's to give you a direct comparison soon.