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.

Happy Buddah Cafe - University Heights Chinese

Happy Buddha Cafe is easy to miss nestled into a small strip mall at the intersection of Green and Cedar Roads. And yes, Happy Buddha is in University Heights, since as Green jogs West, Beachwood gives way for this corner (see the map here). Cleveland has many small Chinese take out places scattered about, and with some notable exceptions, they are unexceptional, well Happy Buddha is certainly different and better. You can get an idea just by looking at their website here; the fact that they even have a website is different, but this one is well done and reflects the care that has been taken with this small restaurant. Connected to Bo Loong by the owners, Happy Buddha has worked to elevate the small takeout restaurant. Since the Lius have taken this spot over they have redecorated to give the small dining area a much better look, the walls have been textured and painted a warm golden color and that are accented by the high gloss pictures of selected dishes. Although much of the business is takeout, they welcome you to eat there and provide table service. The menu is impressive for this type of restaurant, while providing the regular items you would expect, it also has dishes usually found at the larger downtown restaurants, including squid, panfried noodles and salt baked items. The food here is good and among the items that I would recomend are the Singapore style Mei Fun, the Shrip Pan Fried Noodles and the Salt Baked Squid. The food is fresh, well prepared and seasoned and while not the cheapest place in town, the prices are affordable and a good value for what you get. While not as exotic as a trip down to Asiatown, Happy Buddha offers a suprising variety of very good Chinese food at good prices in an attractive if somewhat small setting. If you are in the Eastern Suburbs and want some good Chinese stop by and check it out or take some home.

Frozen Dee-Lite Cafe - Old Fashion Take Out

For the past couple of years whenever I have been out East on Route 422, usually headed to or from Nelson's Ledges, I have always been interested in the big take out place at the fork in the road in Parkman, Ohio. So since Sunday was a nice day I hopped on the motorcycle and headed out that way. Turns out the place is called the Frozen Dee-Lite Cafe, its address is 16508 Main Market Rd, Parkman, Ohio (see map here). A long building with an orange/red steeple on top, it is hard to miss. The set up here is interesting, there are a series of windows along the outside wall where you place your orders, behind the windows is the kitchen and then there is an enclosed dining area with a bunch of tables so you can eat inside, but you have to order outside. The menu is actually quite extensive, with everything from burgers to pizza to Cincinnati style chili. And there are a whole lot of ice cream choices, both soft serve and hard ice cream. I tried the clam strips and an order of the sweet potato fries. The clams were a portion of typical frozen clams, nicely fried and served with a typical tarter sauce. While nothing to make a trip for, they were pretty good. The sweet potato fries were very nice, although they were served as more of a desert, topped with powdered sugar and sided with a brown sugar butter that was very good. The fried items were very clean tasting, it is apparent that they use a good oil and clean it regularly. Since there was only one person working I had to wait while he completed the previous order, so he gave me a free small soft serve cone. The soft serve was good, nice and creamy with a very nice vanilla flavor. It seems that the Frozen Dee-Lite Cafe is not doing anything exceptional, they are doing a lot of different things very well. This is not a place you are going to get high end ingredients or exotic flavors, but they seem to be taking care to keep things fresh and clean. Definitely worth stopping at if you are in the area. I will probably be using this for a stop when heading home after a hike at the ledges.

Richie Chan's - Hidden Gem

There seems to be a little Chinese takeout place on every corner of Cleveland. They range from ok to pretty good. Most have a very similar approach and food; many even seem to use the same menu and menu board with just the restaurant name changed. At first glance Richie Chan's at Cedar Lee (13181 Cedar Rd) in Cleveland Heights, may fit in with all the rest, but a closer look will reveal something completely different. This is not your average Chinese takeout place. Walking in to Richie Chan's there are 3 tables out front, using the Goldilocks approach, 1 small, 1 medium and 1 large. The difference from most takeout places is that you will frequently find these tables filled. That's right, this is not just takeout. An especially good sign is the frequently the customers are Asian. The decor is not much, some old Chinese prints right out of most older Chinese Restaurants, hang high on the walls. The floor is covered with industrial runner carpets, but they try to make the place feel homey and while a bit run down it is clean. Now when you look at the menu you will notice that Richie Chan's has its own menu. All of the standards are there Chow Mein, Egg Foo Young, Lo Mein Fried Rice and Combination Plates; and all done very well. But in addition, you will notice other options, including some very good noodle dishes, fish dishes and others you won't see at most takeouts. Then in addition to the menu there are additional items that are posted in Chinese, you can ask for an explanation, but the best option is to watch the other tables and ask what they have. The food that comes out is generally very good to excellent. Among my favorites is the Shrimp Lo Mein, the Singapore Chow Mei Funn and the Shrimp Chow Mein Cantonese style. Let me talk about the last Cantonese Chow Mein. At Richie Chan's you get a large serving of fresh fried noodles (think similar to pan fried noodles, but with bigger noodles) with good sized shrimp and baby bok choy in a delicious white sauce. Overall food quality and taste is excellent. In addition there are a number of items that are definitely not take out style. There are several fish dishes and I have tried the Salty Peppery Shrimp special which is excellent. The shrimp are fried in a very light batter which has a real peppery kick. The large portion of delicious shrimp are served over a bed of lettuce and topped with slices of very small, very hot green and red peppers. A spicy, slightly sweet red dipping sauce is served on the side. Wonderful, especially if you want something that will wake up your tongue with a lot of heat. Service is an interesting point, depending on what you order, you may be served in Styrofoam or on traditional plates. That's right a "takeout place" that serves on regular plates. Also you will usually get a choice of hot or cold tea and a little plate of fruit. Finally I would recommend you check out the special board, for a very inexpensive price, usually about $4.75 at dinner, you get a combination plate with the special entree, plain fried rice and a shrimp egg roll. A very good sized portion of very tasty food at a great price. At lunch the combinations are similarly priced and they are one of the best values in town. To summarize the experience, the decor and setting is takeout, but the food and the friendly family approach is a winner. This is not the place to take someone to impress them, but if you want very good Chinese food at a reasonable price, this is the place to go. A definite winner and worth trying, even if just getting an order to go on your way home from downtown.