Apparently my luck for finding good food around Cleveland is pretty good, 2018 was no different. Be sure to visit the Feistaurants link for previous Cleveland based entries, but for this year we have two to add covering dinner and breakfast.
Click on any pic to see a bigger view and cycle through all of them. Oh, and please read the entire PJs review to find out why I might sound a little mean to start 😉
Seems like I only eat on odd years at North Coast, since I have Feistaurant Reviews for North Coast Feis Eats 2013 and North Coast Feis Eats 2015. 2017 is no exception.
For this year, we stayed out in Independence instead of our usual stay downtown. We did not have to get up to early for the feis and we found one of our go to hotels at a very reasonable rate. When we checked in, the front desk staff offered us a area restaurant list that was 4 pages long… now thats what I am talking about. The list had some of the chains, a local Winking Lizard (I reviewed the downtown location in the 2013 Eats link above) and a bunch of stuff we were not familiar with. So overwhelmed, we just went down to the desk to ask for recommendations.
The nice lady at the desk checked off a variety, one of which was a grilled cheese restaurant called Melt. I looked at her with that ‘grilled cheese?’ look on my face and asked, do they have beer? Why yes, and its not just grilled cheese. Since my Winking Lizard recommendation was overruled by Mrs WTF and TGC, we headed towards Melt… at least they have beer.
The sign inside, over the front door, in the waiting area
The album cover Mrs WTFs menu was on the back of…
We got there about 6pm and there was a 20ish minute wait. If we had waited another 30 minutes or so before arriving, we probably would have been seated immediately. Seemed like there is an after work rush, then it slows down. Greeted with eclectic decor, like neon signs, lighted plastic holiday yard decorations and lots of tvs with cartoons instead of sports, it had a 70s kind of vibe. This was confirmed when we realized the menus were on the back of 33 1/3 album covers. Mrs WTF had Babs (the one in the picture), and mine was Captain and Tenille. I don’t recall TGC’s.
They also had a separate menu with an extensive beer list, about 40 on tap plus more in bottles, but I am a draft guy. Also available a variety of mixed drinks.
Wet Hot Buffalo Chicken with creamy blue cheese slaw, crumbled blue cheese… ah, yum.
I was going to go for something other than grilled cheese, until I saw what they could do with grilled cheese. If I had to guess, I would say there are around 40 different ones available, and when I saw the buffalo chicken with blue cheese, I kinda knew what I was eating that evening (pictured). Mrs. WTF had an eggplant parmigiana and TGC had a chicken parmigiana sandwich, and they both ordered half a sandwich. I should have, I could not finish it all.
See their grilled cheese options and full menu here. Definitely worth a visit, or revisit!
Cool sign over the exit at the rear of the restaurant.
Melt Independence: $$ – We paid about $55 for 3 of us, which included 2 beers each for me and the Mrs.
If you don’t already know, I occasionally mention some of the good eats we find while we are on the feiseanna trail. You can find the complete list in my Feistaurants section but for this post, I wanted to point out a few places you may want to consider the next time you are up Cleveland way. BTW – Cleveland and North Coast both have a few previous feistaurant entries 😉 Read more
One of the reasons I like to travel is for the food, and when I find a family friendly place near the venue I like to point it out, especially when it is a ‘local’ place that might be easily missed. I found one this weekend during the Halloween Feis.
After having spent the previous week on the coast, I was actually tired of seafood, so when Mrs. WTF asked what I wanted for dinner, I said chicken wings. We did a Google search and found there was a Buffalo Wild Wings nearby, but those are everywhere. We also found a little place called Wings, Suds and Spuds that had some favorable ratings, so we gave it a shot.
A small place in Moon Township, about 10 minutes from the Hyatt, WSS is a family-run business. When we pulled in to a packed (albeit smallish) parking lot, I knew we were on to something, and once inside, I could smell the ‘wingy’ goodness. The restaurant is small, but is family-friendly and serves hot wings and cold beer as well as salads, sandwiches etc… You can see the full menu here.
I like wings and these were pretty good, better than some I have had at the big-name restaurants. The wings were wet, and you could get them really wet, so they were messy, but the sauces were really good. I did half and half with half hot, and the other half hot cajun. Everyone else got boneless or tenders and curly fries and there was very little left by the time we were all through.
WSS has 5 or 6 different beers on tap and all the usual suspects in bottles. I was surprised that there were no BIG name brands on tap, not even Yuengling or Iron City, which I think is against the law, but nobody seemed to care.
Prices were comparable to the chicken chains, maybe a little higher, but it was worth it.
So, if you are looking for something other than hotel or fast food next time you are at a Pittsburgh Feis, look these guys up.
As always, WTF is not compensated for these endorsements…. if I could only find a way 😉
Haven’t posted a feistaurant review in a while, but stumbled across some worthy entries this past wekeend.
Italian Nachos
I have never (if memory serves) reviewed a chain restaurant, but we liked this place so much, TGC wants to move to Kentucky.
Be sure to click the pictures to see a larger version. No filters on the pics, the food looked that good and tasted even better.
Spaghetti Pie
Old Chicago is a western chain that is slowly making its way east, and if you are lucky, you have one near you. If you have not tried it, go, or at the very least put this one on your todo list for next years Bluegrass Feis.
On top of an outrageous menu, they have a nice selection of beers and the service was excellent!
We started with the Italian Nachos, a pasta (yes, I said pasta) chip covered with cheeses, sausage, pepperocini, and served with marinara, “Dio mio!… that is Italian for OMG. Fried and carbs, can it get any better?
Chicago Fire Calzone
TGC had a hard time selecting from the vast menu but decided carbo loading was the way to go. She went with the Spaghetti Pie, a wedge shaped piece of spaghetti noodles with Alfredo sauce set atop marinara.
I went with a calzone called Chicago Fire, a spicy blend of meats and veggied in a huge dough case, served with ranch. Anyone of you who knows me is going to find this hard to believe, but it was too much, and on top of the nachos, um, and beer, I couldn’t finish it.
And don’t let the ‘Italian’ list fool you, we went traditional, but they also have wings, salads, and specialty pizzas like THAI PIE with chicken and teriyaki. Oh, and did I mention they have a nice beer selection? 😉
Highly recommended.
Our own Mellie Wilkes recommended Spaulding’s to me when she heard we were headed to Lexington. Known for their donuts, she told me to get there early on Sunday if I wanted a chance to get some.
Well, considering the meal the night before (see above), and the fact we did not have to rush to the feis first thing Sunday, we took a pass on Spauldings. So why is it listed you ask?
As we drove to the feis, we took side streets through some of the older neighborhoods. In one area, I could see a line of people out the door, and considering the neighborhood, I literally thought it might be a soup kitchen. I was surprised to find it was Spauldings, and Mellie was right, there was a line out the door and around the building.
So sorry Mellie, maybe next time, but if you guys have the chance in the meantime, sounds like it is worth a visit.
We had the opportunity to spend a little time in Naperville after the Chicago Autumn Feis and I wanted to mention a few places that may be worth a visit if you are a food fan.
Quigley’s is on Jefferson, pretty much in downtown Naperville. It is a nice place and has that dark, wood paneled walls and big booths atmosphere you would find in a pub in Ireland, they even got the smell right. Nice cold pints and some pretty decent Irish food make it a nice place for a beer after a hard morning of feisin’, or for a lunch, dinner or just a snack.
I had a lamb stew with some Irish bread that was pretty good and their chips went really well with the beer. There were some kid options so everyone was able to find something they wanted. I heard the Reuben rolls are worth a trip there all by themselves.
It was a bit pricey for a meal and feeding the family, but a pint and some chips wouldn’t set you back to much. Definitely worth a visit.
Le Chocolat du Brochard on Washington is also downtown, just a short walk from Quigleys. It is easily the most outrageous chocolate store I have ever been in, and has a huge selection of custom confections.
After browsing and asking questions of the extremely helpful staff, we made some selections and then stepped next door to the attached cafe for an espresso to have with our chocolates. In addition to coffees, the cafe has specialty drinks and desserts, and is a perfect ending to a walk around Naperville.
There is a little sticker shock at the price per pound for the chocolates, but it is a nice treat and highly recommended.
We had an eclectic little restaurant recommended to us because of the filets, and were told they had some gluten free options. Did a quick Google search and found the Via website. Looked good, so we checked it out and were not disappointed.
Via offers plenty of gluten free pizza and pasta options, and the gluten free crust (according to the boy child) was pretty good, which is hard to do. All of us had pizza and it was the best Pizza Diavola I have had in the U.S. I had the opportunity to visit Italy a few times for the Navy and really enjoyed their pizza. These pizzas were more Italian style, made in a brick oven, and were pretty darn good right over here in ‘Merica,
The meal was a bit pricey, but we each had our own pizza, beers for dad, wine for mom, and drinks for the kids. I understand the filets are pretty good too 😉
WTF gives Via on Downer 2 thumbs up!
I mentioned this place in the North Coast Feis Eats review back in February, but we hit it again this weekend and it seemed even better.
If you have the opportunity to go to Grumpy’s Cafe you have to take advantage of it. We went again last Sunday before the Cleveland Feis, got there shortly after 8 and were seated immediately. Good coffee in mis-matched mugs like the type you would find in your cupboard at home, and a homey yet eclectic feel make this a great place for a pre-feis breakfast.
The servings are huge and I had the Jambalaya omelet (see the pic for some of the other omelet options) which was outrageous. They serve most everything with cajun potatoes so if you don’t like spicy, order a different side. The wife had french toast and the girl child had pumpkin pancakes and none of us needed lunch.
This is one of those rare local finds that are nice people making great food at reasonable prices, and if you get the chance, I highly recommend it.
What The Feis Feistaurant Rating = 10 – must visit!
When we attended the North Coast Feis we stayed in downtown Cleveland which provided us a nice variety of eats. As I have in past posts on this blog, I wanted to point some of the restaurants out so the next time you feis in the area, you have an idea where you might want to try with a little info to back it up. Anyway, here goes for Cleveland…
Grumpys – We hit Grumpys for breakfast as it was between the hotel and the IX Center and was recommended by the hotel staff. This is one of those local places we were lucky enough to find. Great menu, huge portions of a lot of standard and not so standard breakfast fare, and VERY reasonable. This place will be our Cleveland breakfast place and I highly recommend it!
Flannerys – An Irish pub downtown. Good food, great beer selection, but get there early if there is a game in town. Recommended, but know in advance it is a bit pricey.
Winking Lizard – A definite recommendation if you are a beer fan, a huge selection, a lot of which I had not heard of. Food was excellent and prices were very reasonable. Three of us ate (and drank) REALLY well for half of what we paid at Flannerys. Great Bar food selection and family friendly. Keep in mind the ‘game in town’ rule. We will go back again.
If you found places you like in Cleveland, please add your comments and less share the ‘food love’.
If you head up to the Muskegon Feis I have to recommend an eclectic breakfast place we stumbled across called Toast N Jams. Retro styling in side, nice menu, great food and reasonably priced. One of those local gems you really oughta try.