Cleveland seems to get a bad rap - like being dubbed, "The Mistake on the Lake." Or, who would want to go to Cleveland, or live in Cleveland, or even play on one of the pro sport teams in Cleveland? The Cleveland Indians won the World Series in 1948. The Cleveland Browns football team has never won a Super Bowl championship game. The Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team has never won an NBA championship. You get the point.
But I have to say that Cleveland has a tremendous amount of restaurants that are outstanding and memorable. I had to narrow my list down to my three favorites: D'Agnese's, Fire Food and Drink, and Lucky's Cafe.
D'Agnese's (www.dagneses.com) is located on W. Royalton Road in Broadview Heights. This Italian restaurant is in a small strip mall and is contemporary with an upscale wine bar. The restaurant is located close to my daughter's house, so I have been there for lunch and dinner a number of times. I have to say I love the lunches and in particular their fresh salads, especially the Mediterranean salad with fresh romaine, kalamatas olives, cucumbers, red onions, feta cheese, tomatoes, and oregano in balsamic vinegar. The Italian wedding soup is flavorful and hot with carrots, greens and pastina, and the most incredible tiny meatballs! My favorite has to be the Italian Reuben sandwich, which I usually share with my daughter. It contains salami, corned beef, sauerkraut and smoked mozzarella cheese on a Kaiser roll. D'Agnese's serves pomme de frites (french fries), or sweet potato fries, with some type of coating that is out of this world. The fries are not greasy. Their pastas and sauces and other menu items are also delicious.
Fire Food and Drink (www.firefoodanddrink.com) is an eclectic restaurant located on Shaker Square. The restaurant's concept is a simple one - simple food, finest ingredients, friendly efficient service and a focus on classic American foods. The restaurant supports the local farmers. Douglas Katz is the chef for Fire. He is young, innovative, and friendly as he makes his way around each table, greeting and talking to each patron, as if they were family. I have eaten dinner and had their brunch. I even attended the James Beard Foundation dinner that was hosted there a few years ago. It was quite an event. The Sunday brunches are wonderful. I have been there a few times and have tried their home made sticky buns, and wished that I had my own order, so as not to share it with others at my table. They were that good! I had their vegetable frittata, with Yukon gold home fries. My personal favorite was the Fire Benedict house made English muffin, house made ham, basil, poached eggs, and hollandaise. I wasn't disappointed with that dish!
Lucky's Cafe (www.luckyscafe.com) is located in the restored historic area of Tremont, under head chef, Heather Haviland. The restaurant uses local area grown produce, while even growing some of its own produce. They also make their own home made jelly from fresh seasonal fruits.The restaurant offers a counter for take out for home made muffins, cookies, scones, pastries, and coffee. Lucky's has been featured on the Food Network and Guy Fieri sampled the House Made Granola plate, biscuit, Baked Mac-N-Cheese and the Lucky Reuben. I have been there and ate the most wonderful pumpkin pancakes with homemade whipped cream. Most recently, I had their Vanilla Bean Buttermilk waffles topped with warm strawberry rhubarb compote, honeyed whip cream, and striped with house made caramel sauce. My daughter ate the Baked Mac-N-Cheese -cheddar, brie, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses, baked with brioche breadcrumbs and served with house made apple sauce. My son-in-law ate the Shipwreck - a blend of hash browns, eggs, seasoned vegetables, bacon, cheddar cheese, served with toast and fresh fruit jelly.
After eating in these restaurants, the food leaves me with a lasting memory of all three.
Click open their websites, and if you are ever in Cleveland, you have to stop and try the foods at D'Agnese's, Fire, and Lucky's. You won't be disappointed - I promise you.
D'Agnese's has now eliminated the Italian Reuben, much to my daughter and my chagrin. :(
No comments:
Post a Comment