Biagio’s Donuts–Eastlake Goodness

So I was driving down Vine Street in Eastlake recently and I finally realized that Biagio’s Donuts hadn’t closed, they had just moved into a new building at the other end

of the block they were on.  Located at 35523 Vine St., Eastlake, Ohio, Biagio’s has done the seemingly impossible, taking a new building and making it feel like it has been there for quite a while.  You have to look closely to catch the new location, while the original had a front window and sign facing Vine Street, the new building faces sideways to the street and the smaller sign at street level is easy to miss.  But you should try to find it as Biagio’s has some of the best donuts in the area.

The new store looks new on the outside, but once inside it looks like they just picked up the old shop and moved it over.  You will be greeted by a huge assortment of donuts, with a large variety of crème donuts displayed both in the front case and it the larger wall unit.   I highly recommend going for at least one crème, since they are light and fluffy, with a nice sweetness and good flavor.  Among my favorites are the chocolate crème and the the banana crème.  Cremes are available in several different forms, with round donuts, filled sticks and sandwich sticks.

The other donuts are good as well; with choices ranging from a variety of glazed, frosted and various flavored donuts.  Of course there are cinnamon rolls and various other goodies.  It is hard to go wrong here as these are pretty classic donuts and other sweets, but available in many varieties.


Biagio’s also does pizza, both in slices and fresh baked pies; its been a while since I had one, so I’ll skip any review here.  They have also added some soft serve ice cream with the move to the new building. 

If you need some sweets and are over in Lake County, give them a try.

Cibo - Chagrin Falls Pasta

For the most part I have had a lot of success trying restaurants from Groupon (check Groupon out here), Cibo Homemade Pasta certainly ends up on the winner side of the list.  Located at 8564 East Washington Street in Chagrin Falls (the space that used to house Fat Taco) (map is here), at the intersection of Route 306 and Washington Street, Cibo is a friendly little place to get some very good pasta at an affordable price.  Tucked into a corner of the strip mall, it might be easy to miss Cibo, but it is worth finding.  Outside is a couple of tables overlooking a little fountain.  Inside you will find an attractive space that has a feeling of a little trattoria crossed with a fast food place.

Behind a long counter you will see the kitchen and the pasta machine pressing out fresh pasta.  The menu is straight forward and easy to understand, you pick either Cavetelli or whole wheat Rotini and then add sauce and any toppings.  There are also salads and a couple of sandwiches.  When I was there Cibo also had Eggplant Parmigiana, Cheese Lasagne, and some pizza available.  Everything looked very good, fresh made with high quality ingredients.  Since I had a $10 Groupon, I got 2 orders of pasta, one to eat there the other for the next day.

I had the whole wheat rotini with the Alfredo sauce at Cibo.  For $5 you get a very generous serving.  The whole wheat pasta were nice with a little more bite and character then regular pasta.  The Alfredo sauce was nicely balanced between the cheese and cream, with a subtle lighter flavor then many of the heavy Alfredo sauces you encounter; maybe a little bit on the subtle side, but good.

The serving of Cavatelli with the Arrabbita sauce and Romano cheese was one of the better plates of pasta I have had in a while.  The Cavatelli was perfectly cooked, just enough firmness to compliment the sauce and  give a nice chew.  The sauce was excellent, with nice tomato flavor, with spicy heat that balanced well with the grated cheese.  The portion was very good sized but I went through it quickly and would have kept going if there was more.  

Cibo's is a wonderful find, a place that is producing excellent food at affordable prices.  They are using high quality ingredients and obviously take pride in their products.  With a limited menu and the selected specials, they can focus on making the food taste good.  I recomend you head out East and give them a try.

Bruno Brothers - Geneva On The Lake Pizza

If you are heading up to Geneva on the Lake there are a number of good to great food options; among them are at least 3 places on the strip where you can grab a slice of pizza.  I have been intrigued by the Bruno Brothers trailer at  5560 Lake Road East (map is here) so I figured I would give them a try.  This is just a small trailer with a pizza oven and a number of slices available in the glass counter.  What I liked was that they seem to have more variety and more authentic pizza.  I ended up getting a cheese slice and it was suburb.  Many places claim they have New York style pizza, but it falls far short of what I expect, Bruno Brothers comes closer then anything else I have had around here.

To me New York style pizza is huge pizzas, with very thin crust cut into large slices and topped with tangy sauce and a nice uniform cheese layer.  Bruno Brothers hits all the points, I would guess the pizza is 18" and the slice was overflowing the paper plate.  The crust was very thin, but with just the right amount of crispness on the bottom.  The sauce was a little lighter then I would prefer, but still gave good flavor and contrast.  Nice tangy cheese covered the whole slice and was cooked to the point where everything merged into a oily cheesy whole. 

If you are in Geneva on the Lake and feel like getting some Za, I would recommend heading to the middle of the strip (East of Madsen Donuts) and giving Bruno Brothers a try.

Papa Santi's - Bringing Little Italy to the East Side

Papa Santi's opened up a couple of month's ago in a small storefront on Chagrin Road across from Village Square (map is here).  From what I hear and after getting a pizza, Papa Santi's is a direct relation to Mama Santa's the much beloved heart of Cleveland's Little Italy (my review is here).  When I got a coupon for a medium pizza for $2 I had to check out Papa Santi's.  The transaction was easy and the pizza was hot out of the oven in 20 minutes, just as I was told. 

As soon as I got the pizza the Mama Santa's heritage was clear; Papa Santi's has a very similar look, with the pizza well cooked and the sauce, cheese and crust merging into a wonderful greasy gestalt.  I can understand how some will decide this type of pizza is either overcooked or just too greasy, but to me it hits my palate just right.  The medium is a good sized 13" size with cheese almost all the way to the edge.  The major difference I observed with the Papa Santi's pizza is the crust is thinner and flatter then Mama Santa's; the result is a crisp crust with a bit less chewiness.   Also while the sauces seem very close I would guess that Papa Santi's uses a bit less per pizza.  Of course since hand tossed pizzas are individual creations, this could just be that the pizza I got was a bit thinner and less sauce, the next one could be right in the sweet spot. 

Overall, Papa Santi's makes a very good pizza, and while not quite up to Mama Santa's standards, it is very close.   The prices are a bit higher, but Papa Santi's offers convenience for those on the East Side of Cleveland who want a pizza that is not a clone of every other pizza around.

Mario's Bar and Grill

This is going to be a short review, but I had a gift certificate for Mario's (formerly Mario's Fish Bowl) at 3962 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Hts, OH, 44121 (map is here) near the intersection with Warrensville Road and I finally stopped in. Mario's is a cheery neighborhood bar with a large bar with HiDef tvs on one side and a smaller room with a fireplace and some lounging space on the other. The menu is fairly basic, with some nods towards some interesting items. I was impressed with the Mussels, which was a large serving with a spicy broth with onions and jalapenos. The peppers had given up most of their spice to the broth which made for a nice contrast to the meaty mussels. I also tried the clams, which while small, were tender and just the right amount of salty goodness. The Friday soup was Manhatten Clam Chowder, which was good and loaded with clams and vegetables, however I was less then happy to find that it was also loaded with sausage. I understand the flavor advantage of pork products, but a heads up would be nice when ordering what I thought would be a seafood soup. I was less impressed with some of the other items such as the pizza, which was ok, but nothing special. Mario's is a nice place to stop in and get a drink and pick up some decent food; nothing worth a special trip, but certainly worth considering if in the area.

La Pizzeria - Little Italy's Newest

During this year's Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy, they were handing out coupons for La Pizzeria, which was suppose to be open by Fall 2009; well it has taken a bit longer then that, but it is finally open this week. Located at 2188 Murray Hill Road (the corner of Murray Hill and Cornell) (see map here) across from the Baricelli Inn, they have taken the corner space that used to be a gallery and transformed it into a nice little spot to pick up some reasonably priced good food. Walking inside you will find a nicely set up small space with four tables and a service counter. The old space nicely mixes the old such as the tin ceiling with modern fixtures and a green and red paint scheme to provide a warm inviting feel. The place is obviously set up for mainly takeout and delivery, but eating at the shop is just fine. The menu is based around pizzas, calzones, subs and gellato with some salads, wings and pastas thrown in. The prices are reasonable and while nothing seems terribly innovative or new, if done well this kind of food is very popular. I had a small mushroom pizza and was very pleased. Cut into 6 slices the pizza was excellent with a thin crust that was turned up at the edges to make it seem almost deep dish. The crust was probably the highlight of the pizza, with a good crisp to the bottom and a very pleasant flavor, no flavorless bread here. The sauce was a nicely balanced tomato sauce, with a fresh tomato flavor that complimented the pizza. The cheese mix covered the pizza nicely and had just the right cheesy bite from the provolone mixed with the mozzarella. The overall pizza worked well together, it was cooked just right with all of the elements coming together well. I probably should have waited on the first piece, since I had a bit of a cheese slide, but once everything had set the other pieces were no problem. There is a gellato case up front, but it will be a little while until they have any to serve. La Pizzeria is an interesting idea, but seems to duplicate a lot of what is available in the area; put this up in Beachwood, or Shaker instead of in Little Italy and it would be fairly unique. As it is, this seems well set up to appeal to the neighborhood and to the Case Western Reserve students, but has a lot of direct competition. They seem committed to high quality food at a reasonable price, here's hoping they succeed and thrive.

Georgios - Cheap Pizza

I wanted to mention Georgios, a local pizza chain that has a deal going on pizzas. Currently you can get a Large Cheese Pizza for $4, a Large Pepperoni for $5 and a Large Sausage and Pepperoni for $6. The pizzas are what they call their Fresh and Ready, which means they have them precooked and ready to go in a hot box. I actually have been picking pizzas up from the Georgios at the Richmond Heights location which is in the little strip mall on Highland Road near the intersection with Richmond Road, since they have been offering the Cheese or Pepperoni pizza for $4 for a while. I find these pizzas to be pretty good, the crust is medium thin, OK without anything really distinctive. The cheese is good, with a nice texture and mild flavor. The best part of the pizza is the sauce with a nice slightly sweet tomato sauce that gives the pizza a nice zing. Also I have to give them credit, the pizzas have been nicely cooked, just at the stage where all of the elements cook together to make something more than the seperate parts. In addition, I have gotten both pizzas right out of the oven and those that have been in the hotbox, and the pizzas are remarkably consistent. They seem to have figured out a method to hold the pizzas for a period that keeps them hot without overcooking them. For $4 you get a 14" pizza with 10 good sized slices. While this is not the best pizza in town, it certainly is a great way to fill the pizza urge when you are on a tight budget. Certainly a good value.

Pizza BOGO - Upscaling the Pizza Chain

Wanted to talk about Pizza BOGO, which is a local chain of 3 stores (Akron in the Valley, Hudson and Cedar and Taylor in Cleveland Heights) making upscale pizzas. Taking a bit of a different tact than all of the other chains, PB has designed their menu and stores to look different. Walking into the Cleveland Heights store at 13434 Cedar Road just West of Taylor, the decorations look like a chic restaurant or upscale lounge. The colors are bright and vibrant, with modern abstract art on the walls and several modern leather couches to wait. The menu tends towards fusion and different pizzas, but what has changed since PB originally opened is that they have a one price approach, you pick the size and all toppings are included. Pricing is ok, when you consider that you get two pizzas for the price of one. What seems to be really driving their business is their special offer on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, in which you can get one large pizza with unlimited toppings for $5. This used to require an emailed coupon, then a phrase that they emailed out each week, now apparently they are giving this to all their customers. This has been quite successful, however it is leading to bottlenecks in getting pizzas out. Last week I called about 4:30pm and ordered a pizza, they gave me an estimate of about 40 minutes, in the end it took them about an 55 minutes and they were telling people who were calling in that it would be about a 2 hour wait. People were coming in a picking up 6 and 8 pizzas at a time. I do have to compliment the two women running the registers, despite the backup and the large number of orders, they remained friendly and accomodating, good work there. So how was the pizza? I have to say that the pizza has improved from the first time I tried it, less greasy and more flavorful, however overall I think that it lacks a bit of character. The crust was ok, medium thick and chewey, but lacking any real flavor, the sauce was good, but not very distinctive, a nice background but not a real player. This could have been redeemed with the toppings, however the vegies were ok, with the only real standout being the roasted red peppers and the cheese was lacking, both in quantity and taste. The size of the large is an 8 cut, but closer to a medium than what I would consider a large pizza. Overall, not a bad pizza, and at $5 a good bargain, if you can them to make it in a reasonable time probably worth it, but I wouldn't wait two hours. I will encourage Pizza BOGO to keep working on improving the flavor of the pizza and they may have something.

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.

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.

Romeo's Pizza - Free Small Pizza

While watching the Cavs the other night I saw the Romeo's Pizza ad that said you can sign up for a free pizza, so I figured I would give it a try. On the Romeo's website http://www.romeospizza.com/ you will see a sign up on the upper right corner. Fill in the information and they send you an email with a coupon for a free small one item pizza. Romeo's is a smaller local chain and the closest store for me is in Twinsburg. I called in my order and the pizza was waiting for my pick up. The small is about 8" with 6 slices. Overall I would rate this as a pretty good pizza. The crust was medium thick, with a good texture and taste, a little bit dense, but better then most. The sauce was sweet with large chunks of tomato, I would have preferred a bit more spice, but that is me. The cheese was thick and pretty good, although a bit mild, I would have preferred more of a Provolone bite. I had my pizza topped with carmelized onions, which were good if a bit sloppy, also they added a bit more sweetness to an already sweet pizza. My overall impression was this was a good, if a bit sweet version of the pizza. The biggest downside was a lack of adhesion between the crust and cheese; this was definately a case where the cheese was headed off the slice. In the end a good pizza and to get it free is a great deal, if there is a Romeo's pizza by you I would take advantage of the deal.

Alesci's Italian Market

Located at 4333 Mayfield Road in South Euclid, Alesci's has been an oasis of good Italian food for decades. One of a number of family owned stores scattered about the area; I know that there are separate stores in Solon and Euclid; the South Euclid store is the flagship with a large selection and good food. Alesci's has a deli and cheese counter that runs the full length of the store, if you cannot find something to like here, you are just not looking. In the back of the store is the hot food section, with pizza slices and other Italian specialties for you to select. The bakery section is on the other wall of the store, with good bread and some decent pastries. The middle of the store has the pastas, sauces, spices and other Italian goodies. My main reason for hitting Alesci's on a regular basis is the fresh pizza dough in the back cooler. Usually priced at 3 or 4 for $1.00, this is the basis of great homemade pizzas. Pick up a small can of pizza sauce at about $.60 which is enough for two pizzas and add some cheese and toppings and you have a great, inexpensive meal to make at home. When working with the dough, it is best if you can leave it at room temperature for a while to let it rise. Then a light dusting of flour and you can toss and spread the dough to the size you want. I use about half of the small can of sauce and add some garlic and basil, top with some cheese and bake for about 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven and the biggest problem is not eating the whole pizza in a single sitting. If you want to go the white pizza method, spread some good olive oil on the dough, add some garlic and herbs and top with the cheese.

Mama Santa's - Heart of Little Italy

Looking back over the past entries it is hard to believe that I haven't reviewed Mama Santa's, one of my late Dad's favorites. Located in the middle of Cleveland's Little Italy, at 12301 Mayfield Road, Mama Santa's has been dishing up very good Sicilian Italian food at incredibly reasonable prices for decades. As the rest of Little Italy has changed, with new restaurants, and even new digs for such old school places as Corbo's and Pristi's, Mama Santa's has remained the same, serving traditional food in a nice dimly lit restaurant. While the restaurant may not be a stunner, it has a certain old time charm. Instead of trying to get a retro feel, Mama Santa's has just kept the same decor through out its long tenure on the Cleveland scene, which is just the way it should be. Walking in today feels like it has since at least the 1970s when I was a kid, almost like going back to your parents house. The nice part about the decor is that it never was very trendy or hip to begin with, so that over time it has aged well. In addition to not changing the decor, the menu has pretty much remained the same for all those years as well. There have been some price increases, but even those have been few. Prices range mostly below $10 and the portions are good without being overly large. If you ask people in Cleveland about Mama Santa's there is almost always an argument about the pizza, some love it, others hate it. I fall on the love side, but understand the other side. The dough is thin, without being so thin that it cannot hold up the cheese, with a good crust around the outside. The sauce is obviously home made and has enough zip to keep things interesting, the cheese is a nice layer, and while it tends to end up a bit greasy, I personally like my pizza that way. Toppings are limited, to the classics: sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and anchovies. The one thing I will agree with most is that Mama Santa's does have a tendency to overook the pizza. Overall this is one of the most authentic and tasty pizzas you will find in the area. I especially like to pick one up if I am heading home from downtown at the right time. At $7.50 for a large it is a great deal and a welcome relief from bland middle of the road chain pizzas. The rest of the menu is fairly simple, with sandwiches, pastas (both regular and home made) and some veal and chicken entrees. My father loved the Veal Scallopini, nice sized pieces of Veal in a tomato sauce with onions and peppers. The pasta sauces are good traditional sauces, with real herbs and seasonings slow cooked into the kind of goodness that cannot be rushed. The food is served simply and tastes good, what more could you ask for. A couple of things to keep in mind; Mama Santa's is closed on Sundays and since they are at E.123rd and Mayfield, it is very difficult to find parking most nights. Despite that going there is a trip worth making, you will not find fancy decor or modern food trends, but you will get really good food, cooked well at very affordable prices. Mama Santa's is an especially good place to get a meal for East siders headed to or from Downtown.

Bar Cento - Ohio City Hot Spot

So I headed out to Bar Cento on Friday. Located on W25th Street, right across from the West Side Market in Ohio City, this is one of Cleveland's hot spots. The decor is nice, casual but relatively simple, with the restaurant fairly dark and the table set with a bottle of water, a bag of bread, some little plates and a small bucket with the silverware and some paper towels. The menu is also casual and relatively simple but very good Italian. We started with a Margherita pizza that was excellent. A very thin and crisp square crust is topped with fresh tomatos, fresh mozzeralla and basil leaves. The combination of flavors was bright and nicely balanced. We then shared an order of the pomme frites. A big order of twice fried potatoes was served with 3 different mayonnaises and ketchup. The fries were crisp, although I would have like a slightly smaller cut on the potato. The mayonnaise dipping sauces were good, although it started to become hard to tell one from the other. Finally I had an order of the Mussels. A nice portion of good sized mussels came out in an very zippy broth with a couple of long crutton like breads for soaking. The mussels were very good and well balanced, surprisingly once the mussels were gone, the broth was a bit overpowering to be sopped up with the bread. Overall a very good meal at a really fun place. I would strongly recommend the pizza and everything else was good. There is a happy hour with reduced prices on selected items from 5-7 on weekdays.