Hiroshi's Pub - the review

One of the hard things about writing a blog like this is if you want to like new local places, especially if they are owned and run by friends, luckily Hiroshi's Pub more then lives up to the advance billing. I have given you a couple of previews of the Pub, but after attending the opening party and stopping by for dinner I can report that the food and service more then live up to expectations.  Located at 3365 Richmond Road, Building B, Suite 130 (map is here) across the parking lot from Moxie and Red, Hiroshi's is the place to be.

As I have previously described, the decor is a mix of a modern upscale pub with some Asian touches, that all comes together in a great feeling, especially when filled up with people.  The Pub seems to have already found a growing audience, as we stopped in at 6:30 on a Wednesday and it was almost full, by the time we left there was a full house.  Despite this, sound levels were reasonable and service was good.

We started with a couple of draft beers, I tried the Goose Island Honker Ale, which was a well balanced full bodied ale; the taste was smooth and made a nice compliment to the food.

The menu at Hiroshi's is huge, with a long list of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, sushi, BBQ and entrees.  The sushi bar turns out a list of tasty items ranging from the usual sushi to complex rolls, cervices and fusion futomakis.  Some of the most impressive looking plates that went by were the sushi plates.  The BBQ side produces ribs, briskets and other meats that come in a wide variety of forms.  It may take you a while to get through the menu, but you should be able to find something for almost every taste.

I was pleased to hear that the soup of the day was a Tortilla Soup that could be either vegetarian or have chicken added; a very nice idea to allow vegies to have the option.  Even better the large bowl of soup was very good, with a very a good mix of vegetables in a soup with a very nice level of spiciness.  The tortillias had already merged into the soup by the time it got to me, but still added a nice crispness and a little sweetness.  An excellent bowl of soup which is always a great way to start a meal (excuse the mess around the bowl, the waiter bobbled at the table and I didn't want to wait while he went back and got a new bowl).

For my main course I had the Calamari appetizer, which was one of the better versions I have had in Cleveland.  Fresh squid is lightly floured and quickly fried and then served over a light garlic butter with homemade tarter sauce and marinara.  The squid was tender with just a hint of chewiness, the garlic butter was a perfect compliment.  With big flavors, both the tarter and marinara were a bit much for the delicate squid, but overall a very good dish.

My friend Dan had the Smoked Brisket dinner with baked beans and coleslaw.  He thought the brisket was very good, tender with a slight smoke flavor.  I tried a little of the BBQ sauce and it was very good with a nice balance of hickory and sweet, although I could of gone for a bit more hot spice.  Dan also liked the sides and all of the food on the table quickly disappeared.

As you can see, food presentation is very well thought out and portions are good sized.  Service was good and the staff seems to be coming together well.  Despite having a full restaurant, food came out at a good pace, which is nice to see as often newer restaurants will have issues with getting food out, not so for the Pub.

Hiroshi's Pub is a great place to get some excellent and diverse food in a really nice environment.  The food is presented in a very modern and upscale manner; flavors are big and bold, this is a place where taste counts.  Service is good and the bar is already becoming a great place to hang out and relax.

Give Hirsoshi's Pub a try, and you will find that their motto of "Casual Dining with Seriously Good Food" is true.  An easy place to give a high recommendation.

Cafe 56 - Holding Up Very Well

I have a long history with Cafe 56; when I worked downtown it was one of my favorite lunch spots.  C56 was located on the corner of E.4th and Euclid (long before E.4th became the hip place to eat and be seen).  Originally the idea was to offer 56 different salads (that's were the 56 in the name came from) with large portions and quality ingredients.  C56 has gone through expansion and contraction, but has managed to keep itself a good place to get quality food at an affordable price.  Now located at 1433 Som Center Road in the Eastgate Shopping Center at the corner of SOM Center & Mayfield Roads (map is here), C56 is low key, but worth looking for.

Once inside I was very pleased to see that C56 had been recently redecorated and looked sleek and new.  The decor is shades of gray with stainless steel accents, but the feel is softened by the free form art and tree branches on the wall.  The overall feel is modern but welcoming. 
I also noticed that they have come up with a new menu that is closer to their sibling restaurant 56W which I was very impressed by (the review for 56W is here).  The menu features rice bowls, salads, sandwiches, soups and large plates where you get to pick your protein, sauce, salad and side for $10.  Not quite as diverse or quirky as the menu at 56W, but still some solid choices available.  Since I was using a Groupon (try it here), I had $15 to spend, which meant planning to take some home.  

I picked the soup and salad combo for $7 and a Salmon sandwich for $8.  Starting out with the Portobello Bisque which was excellent.  A large bowl was filled with a rich and luxurious cream soup studded with firm mushroom pieces and accented by onioney chive pieces.  The soup was just the right thickness and had a wonderful balanced flavor with just a hint of acidity to balance out the creaminess.  Combined with woody mushroom flavor it was a great start to the meal.

I had the Salmon Club sandwich ($8) with avocado subbed for the bacon and it was very good.  A large portion of salmon was grilled perfectly, then separated into smaller pieces instead of being a single fillet.  The avocado, lettuce, tomato and aoili (think fancy mayonnaise) formed a welcome platform for the flavorful, but mild fish.  The portion of fish was so large that I put some on the salad I had to take home.  After having many poor versions of home made potato chips, C56 gets it right with crispy chips that were not overcooked.

The Caesar salad that came as part of the combo was smaller then the main menu salads, but still a large portion of crisp fresh romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons, shaves of Romano cheese and a wonderful thick version of Caesar dressing.  Since there was so much food, this went home for lunch the next day and it was a great salad.  All of the ingredients were fresh and flavorful, the dressing was nicely balanced and is one of the better interpretations of the Caesar flavors.   Accompanied by the pretzel bagel and topped with some of the Salmon from the sandwich, it was a good light lunch.


C56 has managed to tweak its menu and decor over the years to keep up with changing tastes, the current Cafe is a great place to get high quality food at an affordable price.  Flavors for the most part are simple and straightforward, but bold enough to work.  A great place to get some good food.

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.

Wonton Gourmet & BBQ - Asiatown Hidden Gem - Updated

I headed down to Asiatown for lunch on Saturday and wanted to try someplace new. Had heard mention of Wonton Gourmet and noticed it had taken over the spot at 3211 Payne Avenue in Cleveland's Asiatown. Under a previous name and ownership this used to be just another smaller average Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood, ate there once and was neither very good or very bad, just kind of average. Pulling up to Wonton Gourmet I was not particularly impressed, although there is a good sized parking lot next door, the outside of the building is a bit run down. But walk inside and it is a complete 180 degrees. Decorated in a very modern and clean style Wonton Gourmet looks the complete opposite of its exterior. The place virtually gleams and there is very little decoration. On the far wall a large flat screen shows presumably Chinese shows; along the walls hang small Chinese signs listing menu items with their prices. Luckily there are printed menus with English. The tables are simply set, but in a good sign in addition to the ubiquitous soy sauce there is a container of the hot chili oil. Very nice black plastic chopsticks are brought upon request. The menu lists very standard items; Chow Mein, Fried Rice, Egg Foo Young, Lo Mein and similar items at very reasonable prices. Although I didn't order anything from them on this trip, looking at other tables, the food looked good with very well sized portions. What immediately caught my attention was the separate menu on the table with the Hong Kong style items; Noodles in Soup, Congee and Chow Fun, Delicasies and other dishes. I tried the Shrimp Wonton soup with Egg Noodles. For $4.95 I got a large bowl with a light but well seasoned broth, a large portion of thin noodles, greens and 5-6 large shrimp wontons. The soup was excellent with the Shrimp Wontons being the highlight. Adding just a few drops of the chili oil added the needed punch and it was excellent. Overall I was very impressed; the decor is excellent, very restrained and modern; the menu has plenty of interest while still touching on a lot of what we are familiar with. The prices are very reasonable, especially considering the portion sizes. Bringing a taste of everyday Hong Kong style to Cleveland, this is definitely a place that I will be hitting again, especially at lunch time. Update: I stopped at Wonton Gourmet for a quick dinner and was once again impressed. The dinner menu is extensive and has some items that are new event to me. I was in the mood for squid so I tried the Salt and Pepper Squid. It was a good sized portion of well prepared deep fried squid with a nice salty batter and plenty of hot pepper slices to get my tounge tingling. This is a great addition to the Cleveland Chinese food scene. A very nice place, with an interesting menu of well prepared food and reasonable prices. Go and try it out.