Lemongrass - Cleveland Heights Thai

Lemongrass has been a fixture in the Cedar Lee area for quite a while now and it has been a pretty long time since I last checked in; but thanks to a Groupon deal (check out Groupon here) I had $20 to spend and I felt in the mood for some good Thai. 

Located at 2179 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights (map is here), just a couple of doors down from the Cedar Lee Theater, Lemongrass is a handsome space.  The small bar is in the middle as you enter, with a nice dining room on one side and a garden room that is a little more casual on the other.  A small patio seating area is in back of the garden room.  I was seated in the garden room and the decor was very nice, light and casual with enough Thai accents to make it feel exotic without being overpowering.  I have to say that I was impressed with the way that they have kept the space up, it looks very clean and new, despite having been here for quite a while.

The menu (which can be seen at their website) has a nice variety, including some unusual items.  $20 goes a decent way here, enough to get a top line entree and an appetizer. 

I started with the vegetarian gyozas,  which are described as containing peanuts, carrots, water chestnuts and melon.  The order came out quickly with 6 crisp dumplings and a sweet dipping sauce.  The good was the crisp gyoza skins, deep fried so that they were light and crunchy and the sweet dipping sauce which added a nice contrast to the dish.  The filling was good, but the peanuts overpowered everything except a little of the carrots.  While not bad, I was expecting more contrasts both from a flavor profile and the textures.  Its not that these were bad, its just that especially after going through six of these, they were a bit boring.

For my main course, I took my waiters suggestion and got the Seafood Choo Chee.  While a nice serving of Shrimp, Scallops, Squid and Vegetables in a curry sauce, I ended up a bit disappointed.  First, while all of the seafood was cooked properly, none of it had much impact, especially disappointing for the nice sized scallops, my personal preference would have been to give them a bit of a char to get some nice texture and flavor.  The sauce was nice, with the right balance of Thai basil and a hint of sourness you expect from Thai food and a little less heat then I would have preferred, but it could have used a bit more complexity in the flavors.  In addition, it reminded me one of the things that I didn't prefer at Lemongrass over the years, the sauces tend towards being soups rather then sauces.  In this case I ended up putting all of the rice into the dish and still just barely managed to soak it all up.  I like a good soup, just not when I am expecting a regular entree.   The vegetables in the dish added some flavor and texture, but not nearly what I was expecting.  I will admit that some of this may be personal preference, the way Lemongrass prepares Thai food just doesn't scratch my itch, I prefer something a bit more rustic and home style, but that is me.

Service was good for the most part, although I could have used a refill on my water during the entree; this was especially bad as the restaurant was almost empty.  I know it is a careful balance when things are quiet in a restaurant, you don't want to have your server hovering over your table, but servers need to remember to check in every so often, no matter how busy or slow things are.  I will say that it looked like all of Cedar Lee was very quiet, it was early evening on a weekday with beautiful weather, plus I think a lot of people were checking out Melt.

So, Lemongrass has held up well over the years, with very nice decor, a great location and high quality food; unfortunately it just doesn't quite do it for me, the food is too refined for my preferences and can be soupy.  Prices are decent, but portions may be a bit undersized for what is being charged.  Give them a try if you are in the area and judge for yourself.

Melt Cleveland Heights - Greatness Comes East

So I managed to wait one day before I headed out to check out the new Melt Bar and Grilled in Cleveland Heights.  Located at the corner of Cedar and Taylor Roads (map is here), Melt has taken the amazingly successful formula from Lakewood and transplanted it to the East Side.  Even though I arrived at just after 11:00am on Saturday, the dining room was already filled up with a line out the door.  Luckily there was plenty of room at the huge bar and so I grabbed a stool and settled in.

Looking around you get something of the feel with the brick walls, the kitschy decor and the warm friendly feel.  One half of Melt is a large open dining room with nice tables and chairs and the open kitchen.  On this day the dining room is packed with families with lots of young kids.  Of note is the wall with all of the old Dairy Queen items.  The feel of the dining room is a bit more basic and open.

The other side of Melt is a large U shaped bar with another set of seating along the wall.  This gives the bar almost as much seating as the original Melt has with all of its seating.  Here the decor is more intense and diverse and mirrors that of the Lakewood location.  Plastic Dracula, snowmen and jack-o-lanterns are strewn about and thin screen TVs above the bar have sports and cartoons showing.  Little details are cool such as the old video game panels that line the top of the beer coolers.  All in all a good transfer of much of the atmosphere of the original along with its own unique feel. 

For those who know the location from when it was Peabody's or one of the other bars that were located there, they have filled in the floor and made everything into a single floor. 

Melt has a huge selection of beers, both on tap and in bottles, I will have to work through these over time.  It will be interesting to see how Melt ends up between bar and restaurant, the food is so good, but this will be a great place to just hang and drink.

So once I had finally taken it all in, I settled in and decided on my lunch.  The menu (which you can see here) has come over with no changes, which is a great thing.  The soup of the day is Dortmunder Mac and Cheese; after checking that it was vegetarian, I ordered a cup and was surprised to get a full mug of very thick, very good mac and cheese.  I would not call this a soup, as it was easily as thick as most mac and cheese that you can get.  The taste was wonderfully smooth, with some nice crispness from the scallions and the goldfish that came on the side.  The flavor was a wonderful combination of cheese with a bit of smoke and a hint of heat.  Over many visits to Melt, I have not been disappointed by the soups and chili.

My main choice was the Wake and Bacon with Avocado subbed in for the bacon.  The sandwich came out perfectly cooked with a huge pile of french fries and a side of sweet slaw.  The sandwich was a wonderful balance of fried egg, avocado and melted cheese between giant slices of bread.  A little hot sauce added to give some heat and this is one of my favorite sandwiches.  The fresh cut fries were nicely crisp and if anything better then what I get.  The sweet slaw was nicely crisp and well balanced.  A huge plate of excellent food at a reasonable price.

Despite the fact that this was only the second day of operation, and a more then full restaurant, the service was superb.  Chris the bartender who served me was knowledgeable about the food and the bar, was friendly and in a great mood.  Surprisingly, after getting used to having to wait for food at the Lakewood location, my food came out amazingly fast.  I wouldn't count on this happening, but even if you have to wait the food is more than worth it.

My first review of Melt in Cleveland Heights is very favorable.  They have managed to bring the fabulous food and excellent service, while retaining much of the fun atmosphere.  Right now it feels a little more divided then the Lakewood location, with the dining room area being a bit more family friendly and the bar side being a bit hipper and rowdier.  As long as they can manage the crowds and keep standards high, Melt East will be a huge success. 

I would recommend that you go give them a try, except that Melt is already very busy and I want to be able to find parking and get seated when I get the urge, so instead think about driving over to Lakewood and leaving the Cleveland Heights location alone.

China Buffet - Tasty Chinese in Mentor on the Lake

It seems like the strip malls on Andrews Road in Mentor on the Lake are the place to be for good food at rock bottom prices; I recently reviewed El Patron (link is here), there is a Little Caesar's offering large pizzas with one topping for under $4 and then there is China Buffet.  Despite about the most generic name possible, I came away with a very good experience.

I noticed China Buffet since they were advertising $4.49 lunch and when I mentioned it to my friend Mindy who lives out that way she actually recommended China Buffet as a place she likes.  Located at 5985 Andrews
Road (map is here), behind a Wendy's, the exterior is nothing special and seems a bit run down; however this is quickly dispelled once you are inside.  Decorated in Chinese Buffet style, with a large mural of waterfalls on one walls and dividers topped with wood scrollwork and painted glass, the room feels brand new and spotlessly clean.  A look at the buffet is even more encouraging, with all items well stocked and looking fresh and well prepared.



After being seated I headed over and was pleasantly surprised to see a nice variety of what looks to be well prepared sushi; including items with roe, seaweed salad and a futomaki with raw fish.  Certainly not what you get at a Sushi restaurant, but better then most Chinese Buffets.  Sampling the items I found them to be flavorful and well prepared, with crisp flavors and a nice hand in seasoning.  About the only complaint I had was that the raw fish was a bit stronger then I would have preferred.


I move on to the hot buffet and am even more impressed, the items I tried were well prepared and for the most part were more flavorful then I have become accustomed at Chinese Buffets.  A couple of spicy items I tried had a nice heat to them, which is unusual at buffets.  Even better was the Seafood Combination, which had shrimp, bay scallops, crab sticks and squid in a creamy white sauce.  The seafood was nicely cooked, with the squid and scallops tender, a very unusual occurrence in my experience with buffets.  The white sauce actually had a pleasant mild soy flavor to go with silk texture and added to the dish.  The items I tried, generally tasted good to very good, with flavor profiles I would expect if I ordered them off of a menu rather then getting them at a buffet.  The vegetable fried rice and the lo mien were OK, but noting special. The buffet offered a nice variety, although not as big as some I have seen. 


Even the deserts I tried were flavorful and seemed to be a better grade then I have become used to at Chinese buffets.  


Despite having a generic name, this China Buffet offers very good food in a clean setting at a very good price; I wish more buffets were like this, offering food with flavor and keeping it fresh as possible.  While not offering anything unique, I prefer having everything well prepared and would recommend you give China Buffet a try if you are nearby.

Wild Goat Cafe - Wholesome Food in Kent

This blog has not had many nice things to say about national chain restaurants, but I will admit that they do build good buildings that offer fertile ground for local owners when the chain abandons them; one good example of what can happen is the Wild Goat Cafe in Kent.  Located at 319 West Main Street in Kent (map is here) in what was once a Friendly's, the Wild Goat is doing things right.  When I was an undergraduate at Kent many moons ago, I used to take Star, our fraternity dog, for walks along the Cuyahoga and then head over to Friendly's for some ice cream; I can say that while I miss Star, the Wild Goat beats Friendly's with ease. 

I had heard that Wild Goat was a great place for breakfast and lunch and that it was trying to use locally sourced, wholesome foods, so combined with the name I was expecting a kind of wild and funky place; actually Wild Goat is pretty mellow and straightforward.  The one big dining room is painted with several subdued colors, the tables and chairs are restaurant standard and there is a minimal amount of decoration.  The effect is pretty much standard American family restaurant.  When I got there it was early afternoon on a Sunday and they were full up, but there was room at the small counter up front.  Service was fast and friendly, the kitchen was a bit slower, but the food was worth waiting for.


The menu begins to reveal a bit more about the Wild Goat (you can see it here) with a bit more flair and a number of items that mention quality items such as hydroponic bibb lettuce and Kobe beef for the hamburgers.  But still sticking to a fairly straightforward selection of breakfast, sandwiches, salads and starters. 

Since I was in a breakfast mood, I ordered the Pancakes and Eggs with a side of sweet potato fries.  The pancakes were 3 medium sized cakes  firm on the outside and just the right amount of sponginess on the inside to absorb the syrup with a good mild taste.  The two eggs were perfectly cooked over medium and seemed to have more yolk then most eggs I have had, which is always a good thing.

The sweet potato fries were excellent, they came out piping hot and wonderfully crispy, with a bit less sweetness then most I have tried.  Each fry was light in color, with a clear snap to the outside and the inside perfectly cooked.  The flavor was less sweet then most, which worked wonderfully by playing more on the savory side of the palate.

Finally, although I was full, I could not resist taking home one of giant Cinnamon Rolls in the front case.   For $3 this was the buy of the day, with a giant roll that filled the full sized to go container, topped with a more then generous amount of frosting.  The fresh baked roll was very nice with a well balanced cinnamon layered between its swirls and the wonderful butter cream topping.  What was unusual, especially for an item such as this was that the sweetness was well controlled, even with the icing so that while I am sure I had too many calories, it could have been a lot worse.

The Wild Goat does very good food made from quality ingredients at fair prices.  Don't let the name fool you, this is straight ahead wholesome food prepared by people who care.  It may not be the flashiest, but it is hard to go wrong.

Yours Truly Restaurant - Good Clean Food

We were out for a weekday evening hike in North Chagrin Metropark and wanted to get something easy, so we headed over to the Yours Truly in Mayfield Village.  For those few who haven't stopped at one of their locations around town, Yours Truly is good wholesome food at affordable prices and has been around for almost 30 years. 

The Mayfield Village location is in the corner of the small shopping center at the corner of SOM Center Road and Wilson Mills (map is here).  The brick building with several large windows makes for a good setting for Yours Truly.  Once inside there is a short wait to be seated as they were full up, but things move quickly and we are soon seated in a comfortable booth.  The decor is a bit old fashioned, but balanced nicely and with some restraint, resulting in a comfortable and friendly feel.

The menu is fairly extensive, but hews mainly to American classics (you can see the menu here).  On Fridays, they have a very nice fish fry, but that wasn't available so I went with a scoop of the Tuna Salad on a garden salad.  The salad was fresh greens with tomatoes, cukes and shredded Mozzarella, topped with a generous scoop of very good Tuna.  At the table we also had the sweet potato fries, a chili dog and the choose two.  The food was simply prepared with good quality ingredients.  The flavors are simple and well presented in generous portions.  About the only surprising item was the honey mustard sauce that came with the sweet potato fries, because this was not a combination I had seen before.

Mindy described Yours Truly as "Clean" and I think she hit it on the head, the decor and upkeep is very good, the food is simple and value sized portions.  Eating at Yours Truly may not be the high point of your culinary experience, but you will come away satisfied and well fed and that is a good idea that has been going on for quite a while now.  I am sure that Yours Truly will keep up the good work.

El Patron - Mentor On The Lake Mexican

As I was cruising around on the motorcycle, following the Lake Erie shore East, I noticed a Mexican restaurant I hadn't seen before. Located at 5945 Andrews Rd, Mentor On The Lake (map is here) in a strip mall set back from the street was El Patron.  They seemed to have done what they could with the front, especially considering the location and the banner with $3.49 Lunch Specials certainly caught my eye, so I figured I would give it a try.   Once inside I was surprised to find that El Patron was nicely laid out with warm browns and tans, with real stone used to create the diving wall and some nice Mexican touches and less beer paraphernalia then most Mexican Restaurants.  The overall decor is relaxing with a nice touch of class.

Once seated I was quickly greeted by my server and got the expected chips and salsa.   The chips were nice, the salsa was good although a bit mild, with the occasional pepper or onion chunks to make things a bit more interesting.  A little of the green hot sauce zipped up the salsa to my liking.

Reviewing over the menu I was impressed with the variety (you can view the menu at the Chardon El Patron website here); I was especially happy to see that the $3.49 specials included a choice of Chili Relleno or Fish Tacos.  I picked the Chili Relleno with the rice and was rewarded with a nice sized plate with one good sized chili and a nice portion of rice.  The Chili was well prepared, the batter was good, the cheese melted without becoming a lava flow and the pepper flavorful, although once again a bit mild to my taste.  With Poblano Peppers it is always hard to guess how hot they will be, so I would not hold that against El Patron.  The sauce topping the Chili was very nice slightly sweet with a smokey, almost hickory flavor, reminiscent of a good BBQ sauce.   The rice was mild, but had a very nice taste and good texture without being overly dry. 

Service was good with water refilled, food came out promptly while still feeling prepared to order.  For $3.50 this was one of the better Mexican lunches I have had in a while.  I will definitely head back to El Patron, at least to try the fish tacos lunch.

El Patron also has locations in Chardon and Middlefield, so I will keep an eye out and possibly give them a try.

Mike's Place - Kent Mainstay for Grub

Over the weekend I took my young buddy Danny to Kent to show him around.  Since I was a student there they have redone the Cuyahoga River which used to be dammed behind a waterfall.  Now the river can run unimpeded but they have retained the old waterfall by using a pump to circulate water over it.  There is a nice park along the river and we saw fish, a turtle and a blue heron.

When we started to get hungry I took Danny to Mike's Place, which has been around for quite a while now, yet I had never managed to eat there.  Located at 1799 South Water Street, Kent, Ohio, which is the intersection of Ohio Routes 43 and 261 (map is here), Mike's is a place you almost have to see to believe.  The building started life as a Dutch Pantry, for those who date back further than we might like; which has been converted, added to and just messed with in ways that are fantastic.  To start with there is the full sized Star Wars Tie Fighter siting out front; where this came from I don't know, but it certainly looks good and draws attention.  Then you might notice the Castle Turret and catapult that sits behind the main building.  Finally you see the bright yellow and blue paint job and you are assured this isn't just some chain restaurant.

Inside is an amazing mix of memorabilia, antiques and just plain junk.  The booth room where we were seated looked out at the back of the Tie Fighter.  Looking the other way you have a booth with Elvis and R2D2 on top.

Even more amazing is that each room is different and each is the result of someone with their own wacky vision.  In the back, inside the castle is the bar with a medieval theme.  There is a Bus that has been added to the restaurant with tables inside. And everywhere pictures and license plates.  Truly a unique and fun atmosphere.

Then you get to the menu (which can be downloaded here).  At a hefty six pages of small type, this is one of the most text heavy menus you will find.  It is also one of the most in your face, funny, insulting and generally interesting things you will find.  From the 21 listed acceptable methods of payments, ranging from checks (sometimes) to droids and Excalibur to indentured servitude to the Rules (example: 10. Stop stealing our menus and we’ll stop keying your cars.) this is more than just a list of food, it is funny, it is insulting and it is extensive.

After much discussion and amusement we finally deciding on our lunches and gave our order to our friendly Serving Wench (I know I am violating Rule #2, but just as Mike's is his castle, this is my blog!!!). Service was friendly, knowledgeable and prompt, kudos to the staff and kitchen, especially as there was a Shaker Baseball team of 13year olds up for a tournament and yet everything was handled smoothly.

Danny had the kid's cheeseburger meal, which comes with fries and a drink for $4.  As you can see they use a nice bun and give a large order of fries; what you don't see is that there are actually two patties on the bun.  Danny said the burger was good and for $4 this is a great deal.

I ordered the Walleye dinner, which comes with two large fillets and two side dishes.  I ordered the baja rice and fries, which ended up being overkill.  The Walleye fillets were large and batter fried very nicely.  The fish was mild and flaky, the crust was crunchy and tasty.  Combined with homemade tarter sauce and the fresh lemon, better then I expected, and much bigger.   Added to this was the huge portion of tasty rice, which was moist and flavorful, but about twice what I could eat, then you get a full basket of crisp fresh cut french fries and you start having way more food then you need or want.  This was a lot of food for $9 and you even get a couple of rolls on the side. 

Mike's Place is the kind of place that I really like, it has attitude, good food, huge portions and more than a bit of humor.  The food is good straight forward cooking, well prepared; you are not going to get exotic food combinations or  or subtle seasoning, but you will leave full and satisfied and probably more then a little entertained.   Worth a trip, if only to get a picture of your Star Wars fan in front of the Tie Fighter.  If you are up Kent way stop off and give them a try.  

Fifty Six West - Lakewood Eclectic

This is the first of my Groupon deals that I have used and I am glad I did.  In this case, I got a $20 coupon for $9; using the coupon was easy, I gave it to my friendly server when I was seated and ended up not even seeing a check, all I had to do at the end was leave a tip.  Nice, easy, a very good deal and about the only downside was I may have had too much food.  You might want to give Groupon a try, they will email you a different deal each day, you just look until you find something interesting.  If you want to try it the link is here.

56W is located in two small storefronts on the corner of Detroit and Westlake Avenue, with the address being 16300 Detroit Avenue (Map is here).  The small brick building has a nice light blue awning over the door, with the 56W logo.  Once inside you find two nice clean rooms, with the majority of the tables in the dining room on the left.  The decor is modern and comfortable, the word that came to mind for me was tidy.  Tables are clean with a limited number of condiments.  Overall the feeling is relaxed and comfortable. 

The menu is an interesting mix of items, with 5 basic proteins served up as salads, sandwiches and large plates.  Add in some interesting appetizers and sides, plus some unusual sauces and you have an mix of the familiar and the exotic.  I found the food to be very good quality and well prepared.  Items are dominated by one or two major flavors, but those are usually interesting.

In this case I thought the food was very very good, especially for the price, but each item seemed like a small tweak here or there could have moved it up to excellent, this may just be my taste, but with a place this good you want to see them take the next step.

I started with a cup of the Veggie Chili which was one of the two soups available.  For $3 the portion was nice, but could have used some crackers of some kind on the side.  The Chili itself was more of a cross between a regular chili and a vegetable soup; a slightly thickened chili was loaded with vegetables and made a nice hearty start to the meal.  As chilies go this had a nice flavor, although a bit one note and definitely milder then I prefer.  A couple of shots of hot sauce woke it up, but I could have used some kind of meat substitute to make it feel like a real chili.

Next up was the fried pickles appetizer and this was the highlight of meal.  I received a very nice portion of dill pickle wedges beer battered and served with a nice dipping sauce beautifully presented in a modern white bowl.  I have been wanting to try fried pickles for a while now and if this is a what I can expect, I will have them more often.  The slightly sweet beer batter were nicely fried and wonderfully set off the salty flavor of the pickles, added to that was the nice contrast between the texture of the batter and the cooked pickles.  I might have cut the pickle slices a bit thicker so that there was a better balance with the batter.  I did not detect the hot spice that the menu promised and found the red curry dipping sauce to be nice, but nothing special.

My main course was the Seared Tuna sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries.  The tuna were two thin pieces of tuna, seared on the grill and stacked on top of each other with Asian Slaw and a Wasabi Mayo.  The tuna was well cooked, and still moist which was impressive since it is easy to dry out on the grill.  I think the sandwich would have been better with one thicker piece of tuna, which would allow for a sear while keeping the center rare.  Also a marinate before cooking could have deepened the flavor of the fish.  The Wasabi Mayo seemed to be concentrated in a small portion of the sandwich,with a couple of bites having a nose clearing blast and the rest having no Wasabi flavor; I would think making the mayo a bit milder and spreading it more evenly would solve this.  The slaw was crisp and mild, but I didn't get any flavor profile that made it Asian.  The side of sweet potato fries were excellent, with a nice sweetness and a very good and slightly spicy homemade ketchup.  I did not detect the promised chili rub on the fries which would have been a nice contrast.  For the most part the food presentation was nice and modern, but I had no idea why they stuck a big steak knife in the tuna sandwich; I could understand if I had gotten the steak or if the sandwich was so bit it needed to be cut to be eaten, but neither was the case here.

Service was friendly and attentive and it was clear that my waitress knew the menu well, which is always appreciated.

I would give 56W a strong recommendation, this is a place to get some flavorful high quality food at a reasonable price in a relaxed atmosphere.  This is a place that highlights one or two unusual flavors for each item, while not always delivering the punch the menu promises, they still do better than most places in the area.  I have been a bit more critical in this review, because I think 56W has such great potential and is so close.  I look forward to getting back and trying more of the menu.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream - Columbus Delicacies

So the weather was good on Saturday and I headed down to Columbus on the motorcycle to check out the motorcycle superstores and to try Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.  I saw Jeni's on Food Networks The Best Thing I Ever Ate and I have to say that it ranks right up there with some of the top ice creams I have had.

For those who don't know Jeni's, it is a local Columbus ice cream chain that has 5 locations and is making some excellent ice cream with quality ingredients in unusual flavors.  I stopped at the Dublin, Ohio store which is located in a nice corner space in the heart of the historic downtown.  The shop is clean and crisp, feeling like a modern dairy.   The flavors are a bit more adult and sophisticated then most ice cream places, and if you go to the website here you can see the flavors available.  The guy behind the counter was incredibly friendly and helpful and willing to guide me through the flavors and supply plenty of small tastes to help.

Overall, the Ice Creams I tried were excellent, they had a good texture and the flavors while fairly aggressive were well balanced with subtle characteristics and some clear thoughts of the aftertaste.  I would almost compare the flavor compositions to that wines and the descriptions seem to have that feeling.  To give Clevelanders a reference for comparison, comparing Jeni's to Mitchells Ice Creams, Jeni's is a bit more subtle and balanced, where Mitchells Ice Creams tend to be close to overload in sweetness and fat content, Jeni's manages to taste really good and have a wonderful texture without being excessive.

Now to the flavors, first the couple I tried but go for the full scoop: the Thai Chili packs a real spicy wallop that hits you right up front and lingers a bit, tasty but a bit intimidating and the Dark Chocolate which packs a rich smooth Chocolate flavor and dense consistency, but was a bit more one note then the other flavors.  Now the three flavors I picked (pictured above): the Queen City Cayenne, a rich chocolate with a bit of spice then the heat builds on the aftertaste; this was a unique ice cream for me and the heat plays well with the chocolate, I finished this one first to allow the other mellower flavors to cool my palate.  Savanna Buttermint with white chocolate pieces, the richness of the butter flavor works to temper the strong mint flavor which might otherwise be overwhelming, the white chocolate flakes add a lushness and extra punch to the flavor; this was a great counterbalance to the spiciness of the Queen City.  Finally the Salty Caramel, which has a wonderfully mellow caramel that pops from the salt and then ends with a very mild burnt sugar aftertaste; this was probably the most surprising I tried since the actual flavor profile should be simple, yet they managed to make a complex and satisfying flavor profile.

Cones or dishes are $3.75 for 2 flavors, $4.25 for 3 flavors and $4.75 for 4 flavors.  While the portions are not huge, given the high quality local ingredients and unique flavors, this is well worth the price.

I will visit Jeni's again when I am in the Columbus area, plus , Miles Market does carry Jeni's Ice Cream, unfortunately it is very expensive there.  If you have the chance and are looking for something different and a bit more adult in your ice cream, I don't think you can go wrong with Jeni's.

Pizzazz On the Circle

The end of Passover always means one thing, we can eat bread and pasta again after a week of avoiding them, so a group of us headed over to Pizzazz on the Circle to celebrate.  Pizzazz has been around for quite a while, located in Shaker Heights, nestled into Fairmount Circle, right across from the entrance to john Carrol University, Pizzazz is a good solid Italian restaurant.  (The location is mapped here).

The decor of the dining room is a nice simple combination of comfort and modern; simple wood is set off against warm colors with clean fixtures and modern art prints.  Once seated, service is friendly and efficient even with a larger group.

The menu (which you can see here) is fairly standard modern Italian cooking, with an emphasis on Pizzas, Calzones, Pastas and other Italian favorites.  I ended up ordering the Eggplant Parmigiana dinner, which is a nice portion of fried eggplant topped with some Marinara Sauce and melted cheese and sided with Penne Pasta in more of the same sauce.  The dinner was good, but not great.  The eggplant was sliced pretty thin, which meant that much of the meatiness was lost and the flavor was a bit subdued.  The sauce and cheese were added at the end, so that while they contributed, this never came together into a harmonious whole that is usually better then the sum of its parts.  The penne was fine, and the sauce was ok, a bit light on spices for my taste, but bright and slightly sweet.

The big seller at my table were the Calzones, which were well received and nicely sized, both the small sized.  Probably a good idea to go for the pizza or calzones as they seem to the specialty at Pizzazz.

Overall, Pizzazz is a very nice Italian pizzeria, with pretty good food at decent prices, a very nice location and decor and good service.  What I think it lacks is the actual pizzazz that its name implies, I don't think you will be blown away by Pizzazz, but you will get a nice meal.

Parkview Niteclub Sunday Brunch

A couple of months back I told you how much I enjoyed the Parkview Niteclub (full review is here); I just wanted to post a short update since we stopped by recently for Sunday Brunch.  On Sunday from 11:00am - 3:00pm, Parkview serves a limited Brunch Menu (you can see the menu here).  I went for the Crab and Aspargus Scrambler, which was fresh Asparagus and imitation crab with eggs over english muffins with a Champagne Creme Sauce.   The portion was nice and everything was well cooked, with the Sauce being especially bright and flavorful.  The hashbrowns were nice sized cubes of potatoes which had a good crisp exterior and soft fluffy interior.  My impression was that the food was very good and the portions were fine, with the items a bit overpriced, but made worthwhile due to the creativitiy of the chef on the sauce.  Overall, not a bad place for Sunday Brunch, but probably not worth making any special efforts; I am much more likely to go back for the regular menu than the bruch.

Chinese Buffet Price Wars in Mentor, Ohio

If you are out in Mentor near the intersection of Mentor Avenue and Heisley Road and need a lot of food at a cheap price you might want to take advantage of the prices being offered at two nearby Chinese Buffets that seem to be in a price war (map of the area is here).  I have tried both and while neither is outstanding, they do offer pretty good food and right now the prices are low.

First up is Great Taste Buffet at 9440 Mentor Avenue, just East of the intersection.  Great Taste is the larger buffet with more variety and a slighly nicer decor.  Prices are currently $4.99 for Lunch and $7.99 for dinner.  The front section of the restaurant has several buffet stations set up and the overall food quality is better than most of the Chinese buffets I have tried recently.  Most of the food is well cooked and pretty well seasoned.  The highlight for me was the homemade dessert custard pies.  Decor is pretty standard for this type of place, a bit flashy and starting to get dated, but you don't come for the ambiance.

Phoenix Buffet is at 9354 Mentor Avenue just West of the intersection in a storefront set back from the street.  Phoenix is much smaller and has less of a variety, but is offering the buffet for $3.99 Lunch and $4.99 Dinner.  The buffet is a single long line in the middle of the space, but they manage to squeeze in a good variety of good food.  The highlight here for me was the small fried shrimp with a spicy coating, nicely fried and with a nice zip they were a real treat.  The food is actually pretty flavorful, it might be that having to produce a smaller variety of items allows them to do a better job.  The decor here feels a bit old and very generic, but it is hard to beat the food you get at this price.

My recommendation would be in favor of Phoenix, but that is more for the price then anything else.  The food quality is about the same, flavor slightly favors Phoenix, but variety and decor favor Great Taste.  Either way this is a good way to fill up without spending much money.

The Lancer Steakhouse - Cleveland Institution Returns

The Lancer Steakhouse has been through a lot, but continues to serve up good food at affordable prices.   For those unfamiliar with Lancer, it has been a Cleveland institution for over 50 years.  Located on Carnegie between E.77th and E.78th it has been the center of one of the only real areas of activity between Downtown and the Cleveland Clinic for as long as I can remember.  Lancer is one of the favorites of many of Cleveland's professional athletes and the African-American community.  I have personal history with Lancer, as when I was a young kid, my father had his office in the small strip of shops across the street, so when I would come down to put together catalogs for him, Lancer's was there and already well established.

Recently Lancer's burned down and even worse, due to tight money, the owner had let the insurance lapse, so what came next was up in the air.  I am happy to say that Lancer's has reopened across the street from its former location (the space that had Angie's Soul Cafe) and they have plans to rebuild on the original sight with a new and bigger restaurant.   So I figured I would check them out in their temporary quarters at 7804 Carnegie Ave.
(map is here). 

The outside is nothing special, a plain brick building with some nice front windows, a small lot sits next to the entrance.   Once inside you see that the space is relatively small, but clean and neat with a slightly upscale feel from the red tableclothes covered with white.  During the day, the windows let in lots of light, making the place feel inviting.  While I was there the flat screen over the bar area was showing college basketball.

Lancer's menu (which can be seen here) is pretty straightforward with meat and seafood well represented.  I choose to go with one of the $5 lunch specials, the perch sandwich; you can also get a burger, chicken or catfish sandwich for the same price.

As you can see, what I got was two very nice pieces of ocean perch, lightly floured and perfectly fried with coleslaw and french fries.  While there was a single piece of wheat bread underneath, this is not so much a sandwich as it is a great lunch.  The fish was excellent with some spiciness in the coating and then expertly cooked; it was tasty and really well prepared.  The coleslaw and french fries were both good and everything came out fresh and flavorful. 

Lancer's is a great place to get good wholesome food at reasonable prices.  It will be interesting to see what will come next with the new building, keep an eye out and consider stopping by the next time you are passing by.  Lancer's has a webpage at www.thelancersteakhouse.com and a facebook page at this link.

Update on Watami Buffet and Wendy Park

Just wanted to drop in a quick update on Watami Buffet in Parma (the full review is here); I dropped by this Saturday lunch with my new little brother and have to say that I was impressed.  I had liked Watami before, but I actually think that it has improved since then, which is especially impressive for a buffet.

The decor is still the same, nice and clean in the Japanese style, the upkeep of the place looks very good as the dining room and buffet areas are neat and clean with no signs of wear.

The buffet seems to have improved a little bit, with a bit more variety and an improvement in food quality, especially on the hot side.  Part of this may have been being in when they were busy, but the hot food was well prepared and tasted very good.  Even some items that I found lacking were much better, such as the tempura shrimp were far better.   The sushi side was still pretty good, with the emphasis on combination maki rolls, but the fish seemed fresh and while still not real sushi bar quality, this is a good deal for the money.

I do have to mention that I was especially happy to see that they have added the small custard pies that I usually get at Dim Sum to the hot line as a desert item, so that was a nice suprise.  Overall Watami has held up well and actually slightly improved its food quality; while still not at the level of a real Japanese Restaurant, it is one of the top buffets I have tried in the Cleveland area and certainly a good value if you are looking to fillup on Japanese food at a reasonable price.

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I wanted to also mention that I stopped by Wendy Park on Whiskey Island later in the day on Saturday.  With the weather warming up, I managed to get the motorcycle out and headed downtown to check out this new park at the mouth of the Cuyahoga.   For those unfamilar with this park it is a nice little potential jewel that came about mainly through citizen action and some generosity from Ed Hauser.  You can get more information at the website here.  The park is a work in progress right now, but it does have some spectacular views of the Cuyahoga, the old Coastguard Station and Downtown Cleveland.  I have included a couple of pictures I took, but you can see more at this link.

Mandarain Seafood Buffet - OK Chinese in Twinsburg

I have a confession to make, I have a weakness for Chinese Buffets; fortunately I have managed to mostly avoid them the last couple of years mainly due to the fact that they generally aren't that good and the price has been creeping up.  I recently got a $2 off coupon for Mandrain Seafood Buffet in Twinsburg so I figured I would give it another try.  Mandrain is located at 2695 Creekside Drive in Twinsburg, close to the 480 exit at Darrow Road (map is here) and right next to the Gander Mountain. 

I have been to Mandrain quite a few times in the past and very little has changed, which is both good and bad.  The decor is a modern look, but it isn't at all distinctive or original, its fine but certainly not something that is really noticeable.  About the most interesting thing is that the buffet tables are in the middle of the space with seating areas on either side.  The lunch buffet was $6.50 which I thought was acceptable because of the coupon. 

Lets start off with the items that fall on the good side of things.  They have a seafood soup which is usually very tasty, nicely complimented by the crisp and colorful shrimp chips.  The shrip toast was flavorful and not overdone as it often has been in the past.  The vegetables such as the peapods and green beans were nicely cooked and had good flavor.  Although a close call, the sushi which is set up at the sushi bar at the back of the buffet is good by Chinese buffet standards; it has decent flavor and while not a great assortment there is enough variety to make a nice plate.  I would like for more seasoning in the sushi rice to compliment the seafood, but overall pretty good with the best thing being the handrolled crab salad rolls. 

The medicore is where most of the food I tried fell.  Things such as the fried shrimp, the rice noodle dish, the crab salad, the fried rice and most of the other items were ok, although lacking much flavor.  I enjoy Chinese and most other Asian foods because of the unique and different flavor profiles, unfortunately Mandrain and most other Chinese buffets I have tried in the area tend to make the food as bland as possible to appeal to a broad swath of the population; I understand this, I just don't have to like it.  Desserts for the most part fall into this as well, with some flavor, but not enough to make it worth the calories.

Finally I have to mention the really bad, which were the shrimp in the Seafood Trio, they were very bad with no flavor and either a rubbery or mealy texture depending on the shrimp.  I realize that having certain items on a buffet makes it hard to get the cooking exactly right, but I have had shrimp on enough buffets to know that it is possible to get them right and these were not anywhere near that.  Especially disapointing when you consider this is suppose to be a seafood buffet and the only shrimp in the steam tables were these and some overly sweet batter fried shrimp. 

Finally a word about service, while I don't expect a lot at a buffet, the waitress went by me for about 5 to 10 minutes before asking what I would like to drink and the only way I could get my check was by standing up and putting on my coat; not a good peformance at all.

The bottom line is that while there is a pretty good variety at Mandrain, most of the food has little flavor or distinctiveness.  There is a sushi selection, but no make your own Mongolian grill like some buffets.  I probably won't be back to Mandrain unless something major changes, but your mileage may vary.