Missing Meg Ryan At The Chicago Deli

Most days during lunch, I walk across the street from my current office building to catch lunch at the cafeteria. While most of the food isn't very good, they usually offer a soup or two that is passable. Buying my lunch at the cafeteria accomplishes two goals. First, I can bring my soup back to my desk and work through my lunch. Second, I can get my entire lunch for a mere $1.99. While I've sworn off the turkey chili, the chicken noodle and cream of potato really aren't too bad.

Occasionally, however, I will want a more substantial meal and instead of trying to piece together something satisfying at the cafeteria, a quick trip to one of the local restaurants only a few steps outside my office door usually does the trick. One of these restaurants, the Chicago Deli Restaurant, has been the occasional celebratory lunch destination whenever someone new starts in the office or someone has a birthday.

The Chicago Deli Restaurant was located at 9601 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106 and can be reached at 216-229-3354. While there was another similarly named restaurant based out of Solon that had a website, at the time of this writing there doesn't appear to be a website associated with this restaurant. Parking was in the lot immediately in front of the restaurant. Because of the limited accessibility to the parking lot due to one way streets, you'll want to enter the parking lot through the East 97th Street entrance.

Since parking wasn't going to be a problem for me today, as I approached the front entrance, I took a photograph:


The restaurant was very casual; I simply picked the table I liked and sat down. Within a few minutes, someone stopped by and dropped off the menu:





In addition to the printed menu, there are always three or four daily specials written on the white dry erase boards that decorate several walls of the restaurant. An almost daily special (it has been on the menu every time I have visited) was the cheeseburger platter with French Fries. While it might seem kind of odd to visit a delicatessen and not get one of the gargantuan deli sandwiches, with the cheeseburger platter coming in at $8.25 and most of the a la carte sandwiches tying at the same price, clearly the value conscious would choose the former over the latter. That's what I decided to do today, too.

After placing my order, my server quickly returned with my included side of coleslaw:


This was a decent coleslaw, although the flavor and texture were nothing remarkable. I felt it could have used a bit more dressing, but it certainly wasn't dried out. Within two bites of me starting to eat my coleslaw, my lunch platter arrived:


I had forgotten how quickly the line cooks in the kitchen seem to turn around orders. Usually when eight to ten of us from the office show up for lunch, plates arrive only minutes after ordering them. Seeing that I wasn't worried about my coleslaw getting cold, I set it aside to pay attention to my hot lunch now sitting in front of me. I removed the raw onion rings from the crown of the burger (no need to be tasting onions for the rest of the day) and focused on the remaining vegetation. While the pickles and lettuce were decent enough, sadly for a late-summer tomato, the rather anemic tomato was a bit colorless and disappointing:


After applying the requisite ketchup and yellow mustard, I stacked the cold ingredients on top of the hot and took a bite. No side shot of the burger existed today because I didn't have a serrated knife with which to bisect my burger. The burger was hot, yes; however, it was also cooked well past the medium for which I had asked. It was also a bit on the dry side. The condiments helped, but not very much. The seasoning was good, but the burger tasted more like a back yard off-the-grill burger than a restaurant quality burger.

After taking a few bites of the cheeseburger, I turned my attention to the French Fries:


These were the kind of fries that I preferred, thicker cut and fried to a golden brown. Some of the fries delivered in that respect, others were a bit limp and soft, as if not fully cooked. The other thing I noticed right away after eating a fry or two was that other than the salt that was inherent in these obviously fried-from-frozen fries, no additional salt had been added after they came out of the fryer. To my taste, this left them a bit bland and one dimensional. A little squirt of ketchup seemed to help out though.

With tax, my bill came to just under $9. One thing to know was that once your server drops off your check, you actually pay the bill at the counter by the front door (look for the cash register). After paying my check and dropping the tip off at my table, I was back out into the late summer afternoon, ready to get back to work. The Chicago Deli Restaurant didn't turn out to be all that inspiring, however, neither was it terrible. While there are definitely much better places in Cleveland to get a good burger, none of them happened to be only a few steps away from my front door. Sometimes proximity is the ultimate factor in deciding where one eats, and I am okay with that.

March of Dimes Contest Winner!

Well, the time for the March of Dimes ticket giveaway contest has come to a close and I am happy to announce that we have a winner. I received seventeen requests to be entered into the contest and using the random number generator at random.org, I selected a random value and matched it against this list of entrants:

1) Flo
2) Elena
3) Deanna
4) Bob
5) MH
6) Tami
7) Kristi
8) Amy
9) Rachel
10) Kelli
11) Rob
12) Dave
13) Jenna
14) Dianna
15) Shelbey
16) Jen
17) Cheryl

After consulting Random.org, here was the result:



I contacted Cheryl and she was quite happy to have won the two tickets to this year's event. Congratulations, Cheryl! Apologies to everyone else who entered but didn't win. Hopefully I'll be in the same situation next year that I can offer two more tickets.

Brioche French Toast Throwdown

As much as I try to keep up on restaurants' new and seasonal menus, often times I only discover the presence of something new only after I see a mention to it in the myriad of Internet sites where I read about food. Perhaps I'll see something mentioned on Facebook or Twitter. Many times I've discovered something interesting to check out when I read the weekly food column by Lisa Abraham at the Akron Beacon Dealer on Wednesdays.

On a recent Saturday, I was joined by fellow food blogger Kathy from Carano's Cucina and her friend, Lynn, at the Howe Meadow Farmer's Market. Afterward, we were looking for something filling and local and decided to check out the Golden Goose Restaurant in neighboring Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Now, I have written about my experiences at the Golden Goose before and have walked away quite impressed with the quality of not only the homemade diner-style food being served in the restaurants, but also the quality of the breads and pastries being made from scratch every day by pastry chef, Michael Bruno.

As we walked through the front door at around 10:30 AM, it was immediately apparent that they were still in the middle of a very busy breakfast service. As I checked the daily specials board, the first item I noticed was the brioche French Toast. Many restaurants use Texas Toast or challah for their French Toast. And, in fact, The Golden Goose regularly offers a French Toast made from challah on their menu. However, the thought of the more decadent and butter-laden brioche version made me give into my Pavlovian urges.

As we sat down at the table, I immediately pulled out my new smartphone (yes, sadly, the G1 has been replaced by the HTC Incredible, another Android phone) to update my Facebook and Twitter status. Unbeknownst to me, I would later get a comment from Chef Louis Prpich of the Chowder House Cafe reminding me that they, too, had brioche French Toast on their Sunday brunch menu as well. It's been a while since I did a "throwdown," but I thought that this was as good a chance as any to compare the two offerings.

After placing our order today at The Golden Goose, our server returned shortly afterward with our breakfast. Here was a shot of the French Toast:


Along with this platter of griddled goodness came a little stainless steel pitcher filled with warm syrup:


At $9.50, this was definitely more expensive than the challah French Toast listed on the menu. But with my first bite I could see where the extra cost came into play. The thickly cut brioche slices had been dipped into a standard egg batter and perfectly griddled. They were crispy on the exterior and creamy in the interior. The strawberries were fantastically ripe and lent both a sweetness and tartness to the dish. While butter was provided, I didn't find it necessary to add any. The warm syrup was a wonderful touch, but I was sad that it wasn't real maple syrup. I wasn't sure that this plate of food would fill me up, but it most certainly did.

As we went to the front of the restaurant to pay our checks, we ended up getting into a conversation with both Michael and his wife at the pastry case:


They had just put out some freshly baked Morning Glory muffins that really looked delicious:


Filled with all sorts of good-for-you ingredients like carrots, oats, and coconut, had I not already hit my sweet quotient for the day, I probably would've ended my meal with one of these.

Fast forward to a Sunday following my visit to The Golden Goose and you'll find me standing at the front door to The Chowder House, just a few short blocks away. When I walked through the front door, I was pleased to discover that a room directly ahead that had been previously unused in my last two visits had been opened up with additional seating installed. When I asked the hostess about it, she showed me around and indicated that they had needed to add the additional tables to handle the larger crowds. Good news, indeed.

As I had shown up shortly after the Sunday brunch began, I was actually the first patron of the day. The hostess handed me the brunch menu, which seemed almost superfluous given that I knew what I would be having.

Here was a shot of the menu:



Hah! This time I spied two items on the brioche French Toast that the Golden Goose's version lacked: warmed Ohio maple syrup and applewood smoked bacon.

Soon my server returned with a nice steaming mug of the decaf for which I had asked:


I often like to pair unsweetened bitter coffee with sweet foods. I like the combination of these two flavors. I went ahead and placed my order and within about ten minutes, this was what I received:


Instead of providing the maple syrup in a pitcher like the Golden Goose had done, the kitchen had used it to sauce the plate instead. I dipped my fork tines into the maple syrup and tasted it. The delicate sweetness of real maple syrup made me sigh with contentment. But something else made me sit up in my chair. The syrup wasn't warm, but room temperature. Quickly working through the possibilities, I touched the rim of my plate. Yep, room temperature as well. Perhaps the syrup had been warmed at one point, but by serving it on room temperature plates, the temperature of the syrup quickly reached equilibrium with the plate.

I also noticed that the slices of brioche used for the dish were thinner (but still a nice size) than the pieces used at the Golden Goose. Here was a side shot of the French Toast stack:


Overall I enjoyed the French Toast. I did think that the very center of the bread slice was just a tad dry, but a dip in the syrup quickly fixed that. The strawberries adorning the plate also were fresh and ripe and tasted delicious. The mascarpone "stuffing" didn't do a lot for me as I discovered when eating a small bit by itself. Essentially a combination of mascarpone and butter, it didn't feel as much like a filling as it did a slightly sweetened, cheesy piece of butter one would normally apply to a breakfast item of this type. The flavor of the mascarpone was present if you tried the compound butter by itself, but it got a little lost when eaten with the rest of the French Toast.

Finally, the applewood smoked bacon:


I always appreciate a nice contrast to something sweet; this side fit the bill perfectly. Nicely smoked and just salty enough without being overpowering, the bacon paired perfectly with the French Toast. Actually, I found myself dipping the bacon into the maple syrup before eating heavenly bite after bite. Having nearly finished every bite of this $9 brunch item, I indicated to my server that I was ready to pay the check.

So now that I've described my brioche French Toast experience at both places, which one do I consider to be the best? The problem I run into is that they both were quite good. Each also had an item or two that could be improved. I missed having actual maple syrup and a nice salty side with my meal at The Golden Goose. I missed having warm syrup and the mascarpone filling didn't quite hit the flavor button that I think the chef hoped it would. And since they were virtually equivalent in price ($0.50 difference), I can't use that to determine a large value difference.

In the end, I'll have to give the very slight upper hand to the Chowder House Cafe. The inclusion of the applewood smoked bacon and the use of real maple syrup adds just a bit more balance to the overall plate. That being said, I think you'd be happy with either dish. Also note that the version at the Golden Goose was a daily special and not always on the menu. Get it if they're offering it, but you can count on the Sunday brunch menu at the Chowder House to always have it available.

Doing It Right At Fat Casual BBQ

I crave good barbecue. I mean, really good, slap-your-momma good barbecue. Until Old Carolina BBQ opened up in Akron / Canton / Massillon over the last couple years, this part of Ohio was simply devoid of anything I considered to be even mediocre. And while Old Carolina has sustained my somewhat insatiable lust for these tasty smoked and tangy flavors over the last few years, I am here to tell you of a revelatory new barbecue restaurant that is going to kick some serious butt.

I first met Walter Hyde at a blogger dinner that had been put together by Chef Ellis Cooley at AMP 150. At the time he was the executive chef at the Crazy Horse gentleman's club and while I had never considered the cuisine at, to be slightly vulgar, a strip club, indeed his clientèle were as serious about the grass-fed locally sourced steaks as they were about the visual titillation going on in front of them. That was where he met his current business partner, Scott Slagle, a retired WWE wrestler who decided to go into the food business after his nine year stint ended as Kodiak.

They decided to cash in on an up and coming food trend: fast casual dining. They wanted a restaurant concept where you place your order and the food is served up almost immediately. But it also needed to be family friendly and serve a niche market. As they were often spending their off hours doing low and slow barbecue for themselves as well as catering for others, it seemed almost natural and inevitable that they would eventually need to find their own kitchen in which to cook. From that original idea, over time they decided to add a take-out counter as well. However, when they stumbled across their current space, the old Mezza Luna restaurant space in Macedonia, they not only got what they were looking for, but much more.

Fat Casual BBQ was located at 223 East Highland Road, Macedonia, OH 44056 and can be reached at 330-748-4690. They are currently working on a website at the time of this writing. Parking was in a lot surrounding the building on both the east and west sides of the building as well as additional parking in back. Finding the restaurant was dirt simple. If you remember where the on-ramp to I-271 used to be off of Rt. 8, it is only a skip and a jump down Highland Road until you see this sign:


This was the surest way to locate the right building as they are still working on refinishing the storefront:


While the exterior may need some finishing touches, once inside, Walter, Scott and crew have managed in only one month to take this unused restaurant and give it a sense of simplicity and warmth that is actually open for business. It should be noted that today's gathering was at the request of Walter and was designed as a "preview" of Fat Casual's menu. As such, everyones' meals were free. If that bothers you, gentle reader, please take what I say in this review with whatever grain of salt you desire.

When you first walk into the building you can't help but notice two things: the smell of hickory wood smoke permeating the air and the enormous white board hanging on the wall above you, detailing out the delicious options from which you can choose:


Something that I didn't notice right away because it was sitting against the same wall as the door to the outside was the dessert menu:


Everything with the exception of the flat bread and the pretzel rolls was made from scratch: the sauces, the sides, the meats ... ALL of it. Since I arrived at the restaurant before several of my friends did, I sat down at one of the many open tables (the place could probably seat fifty people easily) and checked out the bottle of sauce placed at the center of each:


This was the "House" BBQ sauce and as Walter explained to us later, it was designed to be sort of a fundamental sauce, not striving to go too far in any direction. He said that it would stand up on its own, but not overpower the flavor of the smoke or the meat and it also worked well in conjunction with the four other homemade BBQ sauces available:


From left to right, there were Texas Heat, Memphis style, Honey, and Carolina style sauces available. Fortunately, plastic tasting spoons were provided in a cup just behind the bottles. My friends and I eagerly got down to some serious tasting. Representing various barbecue cultures throughout the United States, Fat Casual has managed to capture those regional flavors incredibly well in each bottle. While I appreciated all of the different sauces, my personal favorite that made my taste buds stand up and shout "Wow!" was the Memphis style.

Wanting to taste just a little bit of everything, Walter was more than happy to put together a sampler platter that let us try each smoked meat, homemade sides, and even their desserts. All of the smoked meats are made using hickory wood. At some point they might play around with some of the fruit woods (Apple wood, etc.), but for now, they are quite happy with the simple, but quite effective flavor that Hickory imparts.

First up were the pork ribs and smoked sausage, in this case Bratwurst:


If you look closely at the Bratwurst, you can see the telltale sign of a good piece of smoked meat: the pink smoke ring. Our table literally gobbled these up. The nice thing about all of Fat Casual's smoked meats was that while there was a definite presence of smoke flavor, the flavor of the meat came through just as nicely. In fact, that was probably the overriding takeaway I had today about the food at Fat Casual; not only was it VERY tasty, but the flavors were always very well balanced.

The ribs were interesting in that besides tasting delicious, the meat needed a little bit of a tug with your teeth before it separated from the bone. This wasn't a bad thing and in fact, many a barbecue fanatic will argue over whether there should be a little tug or whether the meat should simply fall away like it did with the ribs at Edgar's Restaurant in Akron. I don't know that I'm qualified to answer that age old question definitively, but I can tell you that both versions worked very well in my book.

Next up we had a trio of smoked thinly-sliced meats:


From left to right were turkey breast, beef brisket, and pork tenderloin. Walter told us that they decided to do pork tenderloin over something more traditional, like pork shoulder, saving the pulled pork for parties and catering. After trying all three meats, I was not in a position to argue. Sometimes it is easy to forget what truly good smoked turkey breast is supposed to taste like because the only exposure we have as northeast Ohioans is what is available in the local mega grocery store. The delicate flavors of hickory smoke matched so well with the flavor of the turkey that when I come back for a sandwich (and you can better believe that I will), this might just be my only choice.

That's not to say that the pork and brisket weren't also tender and tasty, too. And because there were so many sauces from which to choose, you could pair each protein with its own sauce to make your very own flavor explosion.

True barbecue wouldn't be complete without the sides and the Fat Casual team didn't disappoint in this department either:


In the back was the baked beans, to the left was the pinto beans over rice, to the right was the macaroni and cheese, and at the bottom was the most amazing of all the sides, a warm sweet potato salad. Of the four, the only one that wasn't as stellar as it could have been was the macaroni and cheese. While the noodles were cooked properly, the cheese sauce was actually a tad underseasoned and just a bit ... for lack of a better word, ordinary. The baked beans, while quite tasty, didn't quite live up to the baked beans served at Old Carolina BBQ. The rice and beans were nicely seasoned, but like I already mentioned, the STAR on that tray was the warm sweet potato salad.

Inspired from the more traditional German potato salad, cooked sweet potatoes had been combined with caramelized onions, bacon, and a nice tangy vinaigrette to make a dynamite side dish. I can totally see Fat Casual BBQ becoming famous for just this side dish alone. A lot of the dinners come with two sides; I can already see myself ordering this one again and again.

Since not all of the sides fit into that one paper boat, Walter loaded us up with the rest of the sides and a couple of the desserts on another plate:


To the left were two of the pretzel rolls available for sandwiches, and starting at the top and working clockwise were the homemade coleslaw, the Piggy Pudding, the Banana Pudding, and a piece of the freshly baked cornbread. While the pretzel rolls were one of the few items not made in-house, they were fresh and quite delicious. Unless the other available vehicle for sandwiches, flatbread, was out-of-this-world good, the pretzel roll would definitely be my choice for a sandwich.

The coleslaw was creamy and tangy. My friend thought it was overdressed, but I appreciated the extra creaminess of the dressing and how it matched well to the crunchiness of the vegetables. The cornbread was delicious without being overly sweet (as us Northerner's tend to like it) and while I prefer my cornbread in fried hushpuppy form, this was an excellent substitute.

While I've said before that I'm not a huge dessert person, it pays to leave a little room at the end of your meal for one of Fat Casual's sweet treats. The first item we tried was the Piggy Pudding. Similar in flavor and texture to a typical cheesecake, this was a nice, if not stellar way to end your meal. That being said, the next taste we tried, the banana pudding, blew our collective socks off. Rich and banana-y, this dessert was proof positive that you don't need a lot of complex flavors to make a good dessert.

The final two desserts we tried today were the Red Velvet Cake Bites and the Pumpkin Spiced Whoopie Pies:


Enveloped in a coating of chocolate and suggestively evoking a truffle wannabe, these were individual bites of red velvet cake. Too often dried out and difficult to swallow without a glug of water, this cake was incredibly moist, decadently flavored with chocolate, and well ... quite red on the inside. Our first bite was so good we actually went back up for a second. The pumpkin spiced whoopie pie was also very good and between the moistness of the cake and the creaminess of the vanilla filling, we scarfed them up in no time flat.

We left some two hours after arriving, stuffed completely with barbecue goodness and barely able to saunter out to our vehicles. I have mixed emotions about telling the Internet about Fat Casual BBQ. While of course I want the business to succeed (and wildly so), I don't want to have to compete for a table once they become immensely popular. That being said, I'll keep my selfishness under check for now and implore you, gentle reader, that you NEED to get to Fat Casual BBQ as soon as is humanly possible for quite literally some of the best barbecue this foodie has ever had, much less written about.

The restaurant officially opens for business on Monday, October 11th and will be open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 11 AM until 8 PM. Those hours could change once next spring rolls around, but I was assured that those would at least be the initial hours.