B Spot For Yet Another Burger

When my friend and fellow food blogger Nancy contacted me about joining her for lunch at B Spot in Woodmere following her hair appointment, I jumped at the chance to return for another fantastic meal. I've written about previous visits on the blog before, but am always looking forward to trying something new. Of course, one might think that all B Spot offers is the same old burger, but there are in fact about sixteen different burgers from which to pick. Something new that Chef Symon has added to the burger menu is the concept of a daily "chef's whim" burger, so now it is literally impossible to try every burger that this hip cool place offers.

Today I arrived shortly after 11:30 AM to find a half-full restaurant and Nancy's husband Bob sitting at the bar. Once Nancy arrived, we made our way over to a table and began contemplating our choices. My favorite burger thus far has been the Red Hot (B Spot's online menu is available here). Between the juiciness of the burger, the juiciness of the pulled pork and the slight spiciness from the peppers, I have had few burger experiences that rivaled it. However, I have always been haunted by another menu selection, the Lola burger. Originating at Chef Symon's other restaurant Lola, this version was topped with a fried egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pickled onions and mayonnaise. As much as I wanted another Red Hot, I felt obligated to pick something else off the menu so that I could write about it (no sense writing more than one review about the same food).

Since there were three of us dining at B Spot today, we decided to split an order of the garlic and Parmesan chicken wings:


These large and meaty wings were perfectly fried. The skin was crispy and the juicy meat inside was hot and delicious. The garlic came in the form of a roasted garlic paste that coated the wings. If you like garlic ... wait, scratch that ... if you LOVE garlic, then this is the chicken wing for you. Hours after I had eaten these beauties, I was still tasting and smelling of garlic. The only real complaint I had was that with all of the forward garlic flavor, the savory Parmesan cheese flavor was a little lost.

I was feeling a bit under the weather today, so I thought I would order a bowl of another Michael Symon classic, the tomato soup with blue cheese:


Just like the Lola burger, this soup has been around for several years. Done with a more rustic feel, the soup wasn't finely pureed, but was served with some texture. Adorning the top of the soup was some freshly cracked black pepper and a few small chunks of blue cheese. The acidity from the tomatoes worked well to tame the sharpness of the cheese. The one thing I felt was missing from the soup was some heat. Symon has posted the recipe for this soup before and I could've sworn that sriracha was one of the ingredients. Not a lot, mind you, but just enough to give the soup a slightly spicy edge. Whether or not the original recipe called for sriracha or not, in my mind I think it would've given the soup that certain je ne sais quoi.

Having finished my chicken wings and soup, I turned my attention to my Lola burger:


As with all burgers served at B Spot, a steak knife was provided in order to cut this gigantic burger down to a more manageable size:


As mentioned earlier, the Lola burger consisted of the Pat Freida hamburger patty, crispy bacon, a fried egg, cheddar cheese, pickled red onions, and a slathering of mayonnaise. All of this was placed between their now quite successful egg-based hamburger bun. One of the perks I've enjoyed when eating at B Spot was the ability to feel safe when ordering my burger cooked to something less than medium well. Today, as in previous visits, I ordered my burger medium and sure enough, it came out medium. While my burger was juicy, it didn't have the extreme juiciness of the Red Hot. Additionally, the combination of the ground beef with the egg, bacon, and cheese kind of put me in a "breakfasty" kind of mindset. The burger was good, don't get me wrong, but I felt like I should be enjoying it with a glass of orange juice or a cup of coffee.

Overall, I really enjoyed my lunch today at B Spot. While a few items were just a smidgen off for me, there were plenty of good things happening to keep me returning time and time again. I realize that there are sixteen burgers on the menu for a reason: Everyone has their own favorite. For me, nothing has yet to beat the Red Hot and honestly, I don't know if anything else on the menu will. But I will continue to try and find out.

Building A Better Burger At B Spot

Today I had a burger epiphany. At the suggestion of my good friend Nancy, I agreed to meet her for lunch at Michael Symon's B Spot restaurant at 11 AM for lunch. Chef Symon, an always interesting and sometimes oddly polarizing character to some in the Cleveland community, happened to be in the restaurant checking in to make sure everything was running smoothly. I had met him once before at his Tremont restaurant Lolita when I attended a small dinner party set out to taste a new menu that was being debuted. For those who have heard it in person or on the Food Network show Iron Chef America, once you've heard his quite distinctive laugh, you can tell that he is in the house long before you see him. Today, as I arrived at B Spot about ten minutes before opening, I heard that laugh. Love him or hate him, that laugh always seems to elicit smiles from those who hear it.

Nancy arrived precisely at 11 AM and as we approached the front door to the newly opened B Spot restaurant from within Eton Place, we were actually greeted by Michael. Since we were literally the first two to arrive today, Michael spent about ten minutes chatting it up with us. The chef let us in on a little secret: As much as people kvetch and complain that menus don't have enough healthy options on them, what people really want when they go out to eat is food that is comforting and tastes good. Apparently the Bar Symon menu recently got a revamp to remove the salad entrees. It turns out that what people say they want and what people actually order can be two very different things. In an entire month, only seventeen salad entrees had been sold. Seventeen! Meanwhile, the fried chicken and several other items perceived as less healthy sold like hotcakes. With such lousy turnover of an entire class of menu items, I can completely understand Michael's decision.

As we finished up our small talk, I then had the opportunity to experience a distinct pleasure which had never happened to me before. Chef Symon asked us if we preferred a booth or the bar, grabbed two menus, and actually sat us at our table. Honestly, gentle reader, I think I might have been a little more star struck if that lilting laugh of his didn't snap me back into reality. As much as I admire what he has done at his myriad of restaurants in Cleveland and Detroit, I realize that he still puts his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us. And while any of his restaurants can have an off night (every restaurant does), I've never experienced a bad meal at any Symon restaurant. Today would be no different.

When Nancy and I first started looking through the menu, I saw an item that I had been anxious to try out since I had heard about it, the vanilla bean apple pie bacon shake. We decided to get our version today without the extra shot of bourbon. At $5 for the basic shake, it wasn't the cheapest milkshake out there in Cleveland, but after splitting the rather sizable shake with Nancy, the price was more than reasonable.

Here was a shot of the milkshake in the original metal cup:


And a close-up of the milkshake:


Our server was kind enough to bring us two glasses, two spoons, and two straws so we could each have a more than ample serving:


Until this point, my favorite place for excellent milkshakes has been Tommy's on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. After tasting this milkshake, I have to give B Spot credit and say that they give Tommy's a run for their money. Michael stopped by our table after our milkshake arrived and confessed that even though they make the ice cream at his other restaurants, because of the sheer quantity of milkshakes they sell every week, they source their vanilla bean ice cream from another local Cleveland business, Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream. However, once B Spot receives the ice cream, they add that Michael Symon spin to it by adding apple pie and cooked bacon to the mix. Nancy wasn't the milkshake addict that I am, but we both went gaga for this concoction. Smooth, creamy, cold, sweet and just a tiny bit salty, you could taste every flavor so distinctly. There were tiny bits of crust, apple, and bacon strewn throughout the entire glass. It was a milkshake you could enjoy first as a cool creamy treat and then as little pops of flavor as you chewed the bits leftover after the ice cream melted.

I knew that I was going to be getting a burger; that was a given. But since I had ordered a basic bacon cheeseburger the last time I came, I decided to try one of the already dressed burgers that was on the menu. Looking at my options, I picked the Red Hot burger. Having had that burger before, Nancy enthusiastically agreed with my choice. Here was a shot of my burger when it arrived at our table:


Along with the ground on-site cooked perfectly medium beef patty I had ordered, the Red Hot was topped with pulled pork, pickled tomatoes, pickled banana pepper rings, pickled jalapenos, Pepperjack cheese and sriracha mayonnaise. Here was a shot of the interior of the burger:


After cutting my burger in half, I wondered how I was ever going to be able to get my mouth around it; I managed. For those out there who might be worried that this burger packed too much spice, I am here to ease your apprehension. The spice level was perfect, enough to perk up your taste buds, but not so hot as to cause any even remotely long-lasting pain or discomfort. This was a really incredibly good burger. Every single component on this burger, from the bun to the meat to the toppings, all came out perfectly. Between the burger and the pulled pork, juice was literally dripping down my hands and back onto my plate. The seasoning was absolutely spot on. I have written before that I thought that the Ohio Beef Burger at The Greenhouse Tavern was my all-time favorite burger, but this ... well, this threw a huge wrench in that plan. While my previous bacon cheeseburger at B Spot had been really good, this was as soul satisfyingly good as the Ohio Beef Burger.

I must also mention the bun on which the burger was served. While I didn't find the previous version to be all that particularly offensive, apparently enough people complained that the heel of the bun got too soggy too quickly that Michael responded and replaced it with a sturdier version. Today's bun was definitely up to the task and besides having a wonderful crust and crumb, it also had a lovely "eggy" smell to it.

Since I had already tried several of the sides during my previous visit, Nancy suggested we split one of the bratwurst sandwiches. We looked over the list and picked the Chili and Cheese Brat. Here was a shot of the entire sandwich:


And my half:


Composed of a grilled bratwurst served with a beanless chili and lots of shredded cheddar cheese on a hoagy roll, it turned out to be a surprisingly messy sandwich to eat. Sadly, the hoagy roll didn't stand up very well to the wetness of the chili and by the time we got around to eating this, it had turned to mush in several key locations and more or less fell apart by the time I finished it. I have a feeling that now that the hamburger bun issue has been fixed, it might be time to turn the attention to finding a suitable replacement for the hoagy bun, too. The flavor of the sandwich, however, was quite good. The chili was nicely seasoned with just a tiny bit of spice and the amount of melted cheddar cheese added a nice creaminess to every bite. To be honest, the brat didn't bowl me over like the burger did, but given that my normal preference is for a good burger over a good brat, I wasn't too disappointed.

When it came time to ask for the check, our server informed us that before Michael had left B Spot (he was only there for the opening of the restaurant today before he had to leave), he told the server to comp our meal. This was only the second time I've ever been completely comped at the end of the meal (as opposed to knowing the meal was comped going into it, such as here) and the first one since I started writing this blog back in 2008. While it is tempting to think that this generous gesture is something that happens all of the time, the reality is that it isn't. Nor is it expected. Nancy and I quickly added up what we thought the total check had come to and left an appropriate tip for the excellent service we had received today from our server.

With today's Red Hot burger, B Spot has just shot itself up into a tie for first place with The Greenhouse Tavern as my all-time favorite burger. The fact that we had an incredibly interesting and delicious milkshake and a pretty decent bratwurst sandwich made today's lunch noteworthy. When we arrived today at 11 AM, the place was pretty empty during its first hour. By the time we left at noon, there was only a slight wait to get a table. Compared to showing up at 6:30 PM and having an hour wait, this was an excellent way to have my cake and eat it, too. I suggest that if you don't like waiting for a table, showing up for lunch sometime between 11 AM and noon is the way to go. Finally, if you couldn't already tell by my school girl-like gushing, B Spot is highly recommended.

Extra Helpings: Michael Symon's B Spot

I recently received an invitation from my good friend Nancy to help celebrate both the opening of Michael Symon's latest restaurant, B Spot, as well as her husband Bob's birthday. While B Spot had only been open about a week when I went, I knew it was going to be a smash hit with the Cleveland crowd. B Spot marks Chef Symon's fourth Cleveland restaurant and fifth overall (his other restaurant being Roast in Detroit). While Michael has really worked every angle from fine dining to pub food, B Spot is notable for its focus on good hearty food that isn't intended to break the bank.

Located at 28699 Chagrin Boulevard, Woodmere, OH 44122, they can be reached at 216-292-5567. This address was actually in the Eton complex and the restaurant is located down by Trader Joe's and Barnes and Noble. There was valet parking, but the parking lot wasn't crowded the night I went and it was an easy five minute walk from where I parked to the front door of the restaurant.

Speaking of which, here was a shot of the outdoor entrance to B Spot:


There was also an indoor entrance that can be reached from within the interior of Eton. Each entrance had a host/hostess stand. Once inside, it was literally impossible to not notice the homage to beer along one side of the restaurant:


A combination of the letter 'B' and the number '13', the 'B' was obvious. Apparently the number thirteen is Michael's lucky number. Not seeing my friends, I gave the hostess my name and party size. It was at that moment that I noticed my friends had not only snagged two bar stools for themselves, but a third right next to them had just opened up. I eagerly snatched it up. As it turned out, I sat down at the bar around 6:45 PM. At 7:50 PM, just as we were finishing up and paying the check, the hostess came over to inform me that a table was finally ready if I still needed it. That is the kind of wait you should expect on a Tuesday night. I'm sure weekends will be worse. Your best bet would be to go at an odd time or be flexible enough to sit at the bar should a spot open up.

The menu at B Spot was pretty short and sweet. "B" stands for Beer, Burgers, and Brats. Meaning Bratwurst. Here was a shot of the front of the menu:


And the two inside pages:



The last page of the menu was their beer and wine list (mostly beer). Sadly, I only took one photo and wouldn't you know it, it was too blurry to post. The good news is that B Spot's entire beer and wine list is available on their website. The list is arranged from lightest (in terms of color and flavor) to darkest. Being a lover of a good dark beer, I started at that end of the menu. I noticed that they had an Akron beer company on tap, Thirsty Dog. The Russian Imperial Stout sounded quite impressive, so I ordered a pint.

After a few minutes, the bartender returned with this:


This was delicious and really hit the spot. With a somewhat well-rounded taste, this beer had notes of chocolate and coffee without being too heavy in either. The Imperial Stout managed to avoid the bitter notes that turn many a fledgling beer drinking away from something such as Guinness (which I absolutely adore). While the texture was a bit chewy, it was easily quaffable. Be careful though, at 9% alcohol by volume, this wasn't a beer for the weak of stomach. It was a good thing we were ordering food to help block the absorption of alcohol or I probably would've had to wait a bit before driving home.

Speaking of food, we looked over the menu and decided that we would each get our own burger and then share three of the sides. First up was my bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese:


The first thing I noticed (even in the dim light of the restaurant), were the tomatoes on top of the burger:


It should be noted that the only color correction I did to the above photo was to lighten the entire photo a bit. The tomatoes really were that red. I'm not sure with whom Chef Symon is doing business, but to get a tomato that ripe and delicious on December 1st requires nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps he is in league with Bender's in Canton.

I ordered the burger medium and happily, the burger came out medium. Although that seems like an obvious no-brainer, I've had trouble lately getting kitchens to cook the burgers to the correct temperature. Clearly Michael has trained his line cooks well as I don't think I saw a single burger go back to the kitchen to be re-fired the entire time I was there. As for the flavor, it was spot on; perfectly seasoned and the creaminess from the cheese was a perfect foil for the savory meat. I normally add ketchup and a little mustard to my burgers, but there was simply no need. After finishing my burger, my dining companion asked me if B Spot's burger had bested the only other burger to unequivocally capture my heart, the Ohio Beef Burger at the Greenhouse Tavern. I'll say this: B Spot's burger was very, very good. And it is roughly the same price as the GHT's version when you order it off their bar menu. However, I have never had a burger that made me absolutely crave it and the experience of eating it made me at the same time lusting for more and shameful for my lust as the Ohio Beef Burger. Still, B Spot's burger was damn good and I'd eat one again in a heartbeat.

To go along with our burgers, we ended up getting three sides. First up were the homemade onion rings fried in lard:


These were excellent onion rings. Nice and meaty, coated well, fried correctly, and finally, seasoned properly. As you bit into each ring, the onion stayed attached to the coating. I'd say that these were in the 99th percentile of onion rings I've ever had in a commercial setting. There are only a handful of times I can say that I've had better rings, and one of those times was when I made them myself. I heartily recommend the onion rings as a side.

Next up was a basket of sriracha fried chicken wings:


These didn't have the nice crispy skin for which I'm always on the lookout, but the chicken meat was tender and moist and the spicy sriracha sauce that they were tossed in was delicious. As I ate several of the wings, I noticed a secondary flavor working in with the chilies and the garlic, an almost citrus flavor. It worked well to counterbalance the primary flavor. As no visible citrus zest was apparent, I surmised that the use of ground coriander might be in play here. Either way, these were very good, but not great chicken wings.

Our final side was a basket of freshly fried potato chips served in a Parmesan and rosemary fondue:


Here was a shot of the fondue:


The chips were freshly fried and had a lovely crunch to them. They weren't greasy in the least. However, a slightly heavy hand with the kosher salt left them a bit too salty for my taste. The cheese fondue, however, was absolute ambrosia. If I came across a hot tub full of this stuff, I would have no problem finding a way to ease my tired aching body into it. This was the kind of sauce that you could slather onto literally anything and it would benefit. I even tried dipping one of the onion rings into it and was pleasantly surprised.

While I didn't avail myself of the pickle station at the center of the restaurant, I did manage to snag a photograph of the condiment basket that was being passed around the bar area:


There are six sauces in all, in the above photograph you can see regular ketchup, Lola ketchup, and ShaSha sauce. The three on the opposite side were a coffee BBQ sauce, stadium mustard, and a balsamic steak sauce. I tried the coffee BBQ sauce on one of the potato chips and it was quite delicious.

With salads, brats, and fried bologna sandwiches on the menu, there really was something here for every Clevelander's taste. They do offer a vegetarian (not sure if it is vegan or not) patty for those who want it, but as the menu name implies, "Why?????" With my beer, burger, and one of the sides, I managed to slip away from B Spot spending only $25 with tax and tip.

I had a great time and a great meal at B Spot. Depending on your tolerance for waiting, you'd do well to heed the advice of going at an off time or be willing to sit at the bar. While the menu wasn't geared towards children, there were some in attendance. Surfaces are fairly hard and it could get noisy when the restaurant was full (which was the entire time I was there). However, the staff is easy-going and friendly and will make sure that when your turn finally comes around, it will definitely be worth the wait. I highly recommend you give B Spot a try the next time you happen to be on the east side of Cleveland.