DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines, Solon

A lunchtime staple for my colleagues, DiBella's does subs. Big subs. Don't make the mistake of ordering a large, thinking you're at Subway or something, because you'll have trouble finishing the sandwich. My first encounter with DiBella's was just like this, and the "holy smokes!" experience of a large sandwich is one to remember.

DiBella's sandwiches are big, and tasty. They are prepared to order, either cold or cooked on the grill, and are fantastic. I tend to stick with the hot turkey and ham, but their dagwood is nice, and I know their steak and cheese is very good. You can get a nice variety of chips to go with the sandwich (which comes on three kinds of bread) and the price is perhaps a little high, but I think it's good value. I have never left DiBella's hungry or thinking that I could have satisfied my sandwich urge anywhere else. Now, from time to time, I actually want a Subway melt, but that's different.

The only downside about DiBella's, aside from the price, is how busy it gets around lunchtime. The line is often literally out the door. I get in around 11:30 to get served and find a seat, and by the time I'm done, there are people waiting outside to get food. You can't argue with that.

Food: 4/5 (Really, really good subs.)

Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Avon

After telling my friend at work about a trip to Brown Bag Burgers last week (review to come), he suggested that I try Five Guys Burgers and Fries to contrast and compare. As yesterday was my birthday (yay me!) Sara and I made the drive over and combined some shopping with an interesting birthday dinner.

I was immediately reminded of In and Out Burger as we walked in, though with a Mid-West vibe. Peanuts. What's with the peanuts? Brown Bag does this too, and I don't get the open boxes of peanuts to snack on as you wait for your burger. Huh. It was also a bit bland inside, and some of the empty tables were filthy. It also seemed like a crappy location, in a poorly attended strip mall, and while the staff were pleasant enough, the seating area seemed like an after-thought and wasn't really somewhere I wanted to be.

Anyway, there was certainly more to remind me of Brown Bag and In and Out Burger. The menu was simple, concentrating on burgers and fries (and the red/white color scheme here in particular reminded me of In and Out Burger). I ordered a "famous" cheeseburger (the regular size is a double - the "littles" are singles), and we shared a regular portion of fries.

The burgers were delicious. They were moist, greasy and heavy, and certainly a cut above the average fast food burger. They were different from Brown Bag's fare, but I will go back and try that place again very soon to make a better comparison. The fries were very nice, and reminded me of Penn Station's fries - cooked in their skins, fresh-cut and high quality.

It wasn't cheap, but it was good value. I'd be pleased to have one locally, though I'd be satisfied with the "little" burger, I think. This was a good burger experience.

Atmosphere: 2/5 (a bit sterile, the peanuts weird me out. The tables needed cleaned.) Service: Not really applicable. Food: 3/5 (Burger was tasty) 3/5 (Fries were good)

Legend's Bar and Grill, Medina

It's been a while since I posted, oops. I do have a couple of reviews to post, and some random comments about stuff - and things - so let's get started with a return visit to my very first Cleveland Eats review on the blog.

I recently returned (as foretold in prophecy) to Legends for a second visit. I think I'm responsible for a lot of traffic to their website, and my last review is ranking very high on Google for them, so perhaps the next time I go back, I'll get a "Cleveland Eats" t-shirt printed, and maybe I'll get some free food. I certainly deserve something. Side note - should I be monitizing these reviews?

Maybe not.

Anyway, this time I had fish and chips. When the food arrived, I was a little dismayed by the portion size. The fish was in two breaded portions, not much bigger than fish-sticks (or fish fingers as I know them, from back home in the UK.) The fries were a little on the meagre side as well.

However, once I got some vinegar and started eating, I was happy with the quality of the food, and I think it was decent value for money. The fries were still good, and the fish, although small in size, was good on taste. The coleslaw that came with it was nice, but I'm not a big fan of coleslaw in general. The very cute girl who brought us our food (and who was very attentive to refills on our drinks) asked if it I'd liked it, as she noticed I'd not really eaten much of it. That was a nice thing of her to do, which impressed me somewhat. I assured her that the 'slaw had been fine.

My companions (Jamie and Matt, the other two thirds of Greymalkin Designs) enjoyed their food as well, though I think Matt wasn't super impressed with his roast beef sandwich, which he termed as "Steak'um" quality. When he starts his threatened "Greater Cleveland Eats" website, maybe you'll get to hear about that.

So, overall, a good experience at Legends in Medina.

Atmosphere: 3/5 Service: 3/5 (improved) Food: 3/5 (Fish, small serving but tasty) 3/5 (Fries)

Please let me know what you think of Legends, and always remember that I take recommendations for other places to review!

Las Vegas Eats - A Cleveland Eats Special Report

A couple of months ago, my wife and my best friend and I spent five days in Las Vegas. We gambled, did some site-seeing, and generally had a great time. I won more than I lost (enough to pay for all the Star Trek crap I bought at the "Star Trek Experience" at the Hilton and all my other touristy tat) and we ate at some nice places, including a couple of buffets and some fast food restaurants. Here are a couple of capsule reviews of the more impressive spots.

The Little A'Le'Inn - Rachel, Nevada
Only the hardcore UFO and conspiracy nut would make the six-hour round trip from Vegas all the way out to Rachel, Nevada to visit There's more of us around than you might thing. Poised on the Extraterrestrial Highway (Route 375), it's right on the edge of the infamous Area 51 where the US Government has been alledgedly testing UFOs for many years, and actually did used to test experimental aircraft like the Blackbird and captured foreign planes. It's a beautiful journey out there, and being so close to that spooky hallowed ground was a big thrill. I'd have been terrified to do it at night. The Inn itself is a small diner selling UFO themed tourist stuff, and they sell burgers, fries and related food. Sara has commented to me that she LOVED the burger she had there a lot - I liked mine too, but obviously I was overwhelmed by the thrill of the whole thing.

In and Out Burger - Not in Ohio, sadly.
I'd heard a lot about In and Out Burger and the food there, and the way of ordering it so that you can get exactly what you want. It's arcane and delightful, and I was excited to try a new burger from a place so highly rated. In the end, we stopped by one a couple of times during our week there (to be precise, it was the one on S. Maryland Parkway, just off Tropicana Ave) and while I wasn't disappointed with the burgers, it wasn't the be-all and end-all experience I'd heard about. In fairness, I probably didn't order my burger right. I should have just ordered one "as standard" instead of having it with just "onions and spread" - spread being their in-house sauce, which was pretty good. I liked the burgers. If there was an In and Out in Cleveland, I'd eat there. A lot, probably. The fries were just not for me, unless there's another way to get them cooked, but I really disliked them. The first double-burger I had was really good, the second time we went, I wasn't quite as inspired.

So, something of an anti-climax, but not really. I liked it well enough, and it's certainly a cut above other fast food places without a doubt. I admire the simplicity of their menu and the dedication to getting the hamburger right. It's a desert/West Coast experience, and next time I'm in Vegas, I'll be back.

The Carnival World Buffet, The Rio, Las Vegas
I was very excited to go see Penn and Teller's show at the Rio, and we arrived early to gamble and eat. We'd heard a lot of good things about the buffet at the Rio, and we weren't disappointed. Lots to choose from, and the quality was very high. We were stuffed, and grateful for the hour or so wait before seating for the show to let us gamble and recover. Nothing leaps to mind especially about this experience aside from the sheer variety of food on offer. Sara and Boon both enjoyed the pizza, as I recall, though I admit that I probably had a slightly nicer buffet meal at the Luxor, when they seemed to have everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal on offer one night.

No scores for the any of the above, since this isn't really a normal part of the Cleveland Eats series of reviews. We ate at a bunch of other places while we were there, but mostly it was a blur and very little remains in my mind as being especially amazing, aside from Jack-in-the-Box for breakfast and how much fun Blackjack is to play on $5 tables at casinos on Fremont Street.

Steak N Shake, Garfield Heights

I'll keep this brief. Sara and I went there for breakfast on Saturday morning, prior to a day of softball on behalf of my employer (for the Cleveland Corporate Challenge). Needless to say, you probably don't think of Steak 'n Shake and breakfast together in the same thought, and for good reason.

Our server was good, in the face of her restaurant having run out of hash browns and regular bacon, and the fact that the cook didn't know how to cook eggs over-hard (despite trying twice. I'll say this, they make really good eggs over-medium). She even took some money off the bill given the situation. Out of all of this, she came out looking professional and level-headed. However, one of the very bored staff spoke loudly about the "ineptitude of management" regarding the lack of bacon and hash browns, which isn't cool. Not in front of the four customers in the place, sweetheart. All I'll remember is the rudeness of the drive-through girl who was so bored she was eating her breakfast out front and being unpleasant about her bosses, and the cook who made really good eggs over-medium, not matter what.

Atmosphere: 1/5 (-1 for the inappropriate comments) Service: 3/5 (+1 for grace under pressure) Food: 2/5 (It's not really a breakfast place)

Famous Gyro George, Bedford (or Maple Heights)

So, apparently this is in Maple Heights, but I always think of it as being more Bedfordy than Mapley. Anyway, Famous Gyro George is probably fairly well known if you live in the Cleveland area, so it hardly needs much of an introduction. If you don't know of it, it's kind of tricky to explain. It does breakfasts, the one I'm reviewing is open 24/7, and yes, it does gyros too. And you'll leave smelling of the food you've eaten, so if that bothers you, don't go. However, I quite like the food, so smelling like tasty greasy food is a risk worth taking.

The breakfasts are cheap and cheerful, and the array of deals on the vast board over the counter are bewildering at first. Typical breakfast fare, but the price is good, and it's hearty stuff.

The lunch/dinner menu is similiarly basic, though I must admit that I'm a big fan of their burgers - I find them redolent of the ones back home, and that makes me happy. Their fries are good too, and the place, in general, makes me happy. They have vinegar for their fries, which as you'll recall, is a good thing in my book. I don't eat gyros, so I'll not be reviewing them here, but I assume that, as George is famous for 'em, they must be good.

You stand in line, order your food and pay for it, then go sit down with your drinks and a number. They bring your food out, and you eat it. Simple. It reminds me of so many chippies where I used to eat growing up, that I feel very at home here. The only thing missing from that experience is the tea maker hissing away and Radio 1 blaring out Ultravox.

Check this place out. Don't let anything or anyone tell you differently, it's worth a visit. It's Famous for a reason.

Atmosphere: 3/5 (basic and cheerful - feels like home, to me at least) Service: 3/5 (for what it is) Food: 3/5 (Fries 4/5) (Breakfast 3/5) (Burgers 3/5)

LA Pete's (Formally La Peep's), Independence

Tucked away on Route 21 in Independence, slightly north of Rockside Road, L.A. Pete's recently changed it's name from Le Peeps as it left a larger chain to make its own way in the world. However, only the front signage changed - everything remains the same within, including the tasty breakfast food and the almost always pleasant (if harried and rushed!) staff.

Sara and I first discovered the spot a couple of years ago. We'd driven past it a few times, noticing that it was closed - L.A. Pete's only opens for breakfast and lunch. This kind of dedication to the best meal of the day is something that gets my attention, so we stopped by. (I'll be reviewing another breakfast favorite soon, The Original Pancake House, which follows a similar trend of closing once they're done with lunch).

The food is good breakfast fare. The bacon is above average, and their sausages are excellent, though a full side is a little too rich. The pancakes are good, the coffee is great, and the menu is varied and dependable. Service is usually pretty good, though on the weekends you can expect a long wait - the place is very popular. They often have large parties there, and sometimes the staff is run a little ragged, but they are good at what they do, and I've rarely left feeling let down by the service.

The signature potatoes leave me a bit cold (as they also go, quite quickly), but I recently discovered that "deep fried" is an option that makes them much more palatable, if frighteningly bad for you. I almost never finish the potato side of my breakfast there, but that doesn't make them bad, just not my particular favorite, either in style or delivery.

Bizarrely, the restrooms are incredibly nice. I'm not sure what the place used to be, I think maybe a party center, but the design in the place is almost weird. The one negative in this regard are the horrific clown paintings around the lobby. Don't bring childhood fears of painted entertainers.

A good spot for breakfast. Busy at weekends, but worth the visit.

Atmosphere: 3/5 (they get a -1 for the clown paintings) Service: 3/5 Food: 3/5 (Potatoes 2/5, deep fried 3/5) (Bacon 3/5) (sausage 4/5) (pancakes 3/5)