Cleveland Eats: Romeo's Pizza, Medina

Later the same day that I had the rather disappointing lunch at Sully's, I also had dinner with Matt and Jamie at Romeo's Pizza in Medina. Specifically, we ate at their "sit in" pizzeria section, which serves the same food as their delivery pizza operation.

I've been hearing a lot about Romeo's recently, as I'm a regular listener to "The Maxwell Show" here in Cleveland. I thought I'd give it a go, since Maxwell honestly seems to be drooling when he talks about the pizza.

As the guys are on a health kick right now (good for them!) we split a medium "Butcher's Shop" and ordered healthier entrees. I ordered penne pasta.

Well, the pizza was amazing. I honestly think it might be nicest I've ever had. Really. It was their base sauce and crust, though they do other sauces and crusts, and the meats were just great - meatball, sausage, bacon and pepperoni. I couldn't get enough, and regretted not ordering a pizza to myself.

The pasta couldn't compete, and I only finished half of it, if that.

The next day, on my way back from an afternoon of writing in the Brecksville Panera, I picked up a couple of pizza's for Sara and myself, and truly got my teeth into a decent serving size of their "Butcher's Shop". It's very rich and not for the squeamish, but wow.

So, 5/5 for their Butcher's Shop Pizza. I will be trying their other fare ongoing, including their subs and some of their other toppings and saunces, including a garlic sauce which I'm sure really goes well with their hawaiian pizza. Yum.

Cleveland Eats: Sully's Irish Pub, Medina

Normally, I stay the heck out of Irish pubs. Not because I'm a self-hating Northern Irishman (I might be one of those, that's not why I don't go to Irish pubs) but because the food is usually just typical bar fare with some "oirish" stuff thrown in. Thusly, it's almost always a disappointment.

My trip to Sully's in Medina was no different. It's a nice place on a Saturday lunchtime, and I'll admit that it looks like home. The music was of the touristy-rebel variety. I'm not quite sure what that would be like if you were an American in a touristy Yank Eatery in Ireland - probably 30's prohibition bar music playing all the time, only more annoying.

I ordered a 1/3 pound burger with fries, and got what I ordered. It was fairly tasteless - but do consider my previous entries around burgers, and the fact that I'm aware that I may not actually know what a good one tastes like.

I was disappointed with the food, and the price - it was at least a couple of bucks more than I thought it was worth.

I will end up going back and trying something else, and as such, I won't be scoring Sully's today. But I always feel vaguely uncomfortable in this kind of Irishy place, not least because it's touristy, and for about a dozen other reasons too.

I hear good things about Sullivan's in Cleveland though....

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.

Internation House of Pancakes, Bedford Heights, Ohio

The International House of Pancakes, or IHoP as it's probably better known, is probably one of my favorite places to get breakfast in Ohio. Indeed, this specific location has been a regular haunt of mine for a few years now, to the extent that I can walk in at about 7am and know the servers and the other regular customers. I rarely need a menu, and when the server says "your usual?" you know it's a good spot.

Not all IHoPs are created equal, of course, and this one is a cut above the rest - at least at this time in the morning, and with the servers and cooks it's currently blessed with. I sometimes pop in a lunch, and the place is incredibly busy, and the same level of service is impossible to get compared to the morning situation, but I'm a regular here for a reason.

So, I like it. I usually get buttermilk pancakes, eggs and some kind of meat, either bacon, ham or sausage, and at the minute they have a weekday special where you get 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and 2 small links or bacon strips and a carafe of coffee (and a paper) for $4.99.

That's a very good deal. It's a 30 minute period of peace and quiet before work starts where I can read the paper or a magazine, and chill out. I catch up with email on my iPhone and chat with the servers (hello, Kim!) or one of the regulars and generally feel like I'm in an old diner somewhere. I like the coffee, and when I get there I know they are already brewing me a fresh carafe.

It's a hell of an experience, and you'd not get it everywhere. This place is a cut above, and when the staff I like eventually move on, and if the same high quality of people aren't quite there after that, I might move on too. It's just the way things go, but that's alright. So far, so good.

Atmosphere: 4/5 (at 7am - quiet and peaceful) Service: 5/5 (Kim and one or two others) 3/5 (the rest of the time) Food: 4/5 (Consistent and good)

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.)