Cogan's - Bad Food, Lousy Service, Burton, Ohio

First of all, "Bad Food, Lousy Service" is Cogan's motto, and it elicited a chuckle from me when we pulled up on Thursday for lunch. I knew how it would look when I wrote my review here, so it amused me more than one level, that's for sure.

Since starting my new job, about 20 miles north-east of Solon, I've tried out a few new eateries - but this is really Cleveland Eats, not "almost-Pennsylvania-Eats." That said, I'll have a few reviews coming from the Middlefield/Burton direction over the next couple of weeks, since I've eaten at some really nice places that are almost worth the drive out.

So - Cogan's. My colleague Frank (hey, Frank!) is a fan of the place, and I can see why. It's at first glance a pretty standard American food place (burgers, wings, wraps) but the place has a history, and it's all over the walls (photos of the owner and his friends in the sixties and updated, the same friends in the same pose thirty years on, along with other items of interest that probably mean something to someone working there, past or present), in the quality of the service and the attitude of the people working there. It's also in the menus, which have been written with a great deal of humor and tongue firmly in cheek. Frank pointed out the owner, Tom, who was in his apparently ubiquitous beanie cap, making the time to talk to everyone, staff and visitor.

I ordered a cheeseburger (my standard "first time" order at a new place) with fries, and waited to see what would come out. I wasn't disappointed, though the portion size was a little on the small size when it came to the fries. I was pretty hungry though. The burger was tasty and above average for a restaurant like this, and there were a variety of toppings available when I ordered, including whipped cream. Really. I ordered two different cheeses and onions.

The fries were good, and with vinegar on the table (a plus in my book) I wasn't disappointed (except by the portion size).

Frank told me a story about the house hot sauces, and though I didn't partake, I was impressed with the uniqueness of the place, something I'm always searching for.

So, Cogan's in Burton is something a little bit special from what I've seen. I'll be back there, and though I'm not sure how long we'll be based in Middlefield (looks like a month or two) I think I'll suggest to Frank that we schedule a weekly "lunch meeting" here to discuss work in what is honestly a one-of-a-kind atmosphere with food that I'm looking forward to exploring further.

Atmosphere: 4/5 (Relaxing, unique) Service: 3/5 (I'm sure Frank would give it a 5, but I'm just getting to know them) Food: 3/5 (Decent, portion size a bit small. I need to explore the food further).

Old reviews posted, an update of the Mission Statement

I've copied the old reviews over from my original blog, and there weren't that many, sadly - I do hope to do better.

I had originally posted the following as a kind of "statement of intent" and I think it still stands.

One of the things I'm going to do here is to do real restaurant reviews. I use the word "real" very carefully here, and it's important in a couple of ways.

First, my intention is to really give insight into the places where real people eat on a daily basis, not high-brow insights into restaurants that I might only go once or twice a year, and where, frankly, sometimes the food might be wasted on my sullen and cynical palate.

Second, I hope to rate these places on the things that matter, using language that makes sense. You'll all know what I mean when I review a restaurant and their offerings, and I'll be brutally honest. When service is good, I'll say so. When it's bad, I'll be relentless about it. But I give a lot of second chances, and I'll usually go back somewhere a few times to see how things are going.

Finally, this is going to cover everything, from fast food to the more familiar chains, to the one-off places I crave to discover. Breakfast is my favorite meal, but I'm a big guy, so I clearly like my food. I hate bad service, and I'll call a place out on it. But there's nothing I love more than somewhere that gets better.

So there you have it. I think my feelings probably still stand as written, and you should still see some plain language, home-spun thoughts about the places I choose to eat appear on this blog.

As always, please comment and let me know if you think I'm right or wrong, or if you have recommendations of places I should try next.

New blog address for Cleveland Eats

I know it's been a while since I posted, and part of the reason for that has been my experimentation with blogging software. Initially, I was hosting the blog on my own site and server, and while that was very interesting from a technical point of view, long term it's not really going to help me actually post.

I've got an iPhone, after all, and Google makes things very easy if you're tapped into more common blogging software (such as, shock, Blogger.com) so here I am.

My older posts will still be available until such a time as I move them over here. But for now, I'd like to get back to posting my "Cleveland Eats" reviews, and my technical reviews, on a more regular basis and with the ease-of-use that Blogger offers.