Hey peeps. Going to Cedar Point later this month and could use some recommendations for good local eateries in the Sandusky area and Cleveland also. Will spend a day at Cedar Point, one in Cleveland and one doing whatever. (Rock and Roll HOF! Maybe Lebron in the playoffs?)
I’ve been watching all these Travel Channel shows about good local food and monster sandwiches.
Nasty fastfood it is…
Well… Not exactly in the heart of the city, but you could go to Parma’s Antonio’s http://antoniosparma.com/ Which is the place Drew Carey loves and has had them send their pizza’s to the Price is Right show. I go there every so often, and the food is really good.
There is a Luchita’s is also near there. It always wins best Mexican in Cleveland. http://www.luchita.com/
Best Burgers is Heck’s Cafe http://www.heckscafe.com/ It’s nice, but be careful driving around Ohio City if it’s night time when you go.
There is other stuff. If you have a type of food in mind, I can help steer you in the right direction.
I don’t know about Sandusky though. I haven’t been to Cedar Point in over a decade.
Cincinnati Chili isn’t chili. It’s greek spaghetti sauce.
Thanks, Kevin! I see that Hecks ain’t too far from the RnR HOF. Think that would be alright in the daytime with the better half? We can both carry concealed if need be. (Hey! I better check those Ohio laws, eh?)
Ohio has reciprocity with a lot of States. You do have to check though.
Ohio City is fine during the day since a lot of folks come over the bridge for lunch and what-not. There is just some projects around the area that you wouldn’t want to get stuck in at night. But otherwise you’ll be fine, it’s not the ghetto or anything.
Kevin, anything good out near Avon Lake?
You can hit Bearden’s. It’s in Rocky River. You just take Lake Road out of Avon Lake. It’s a straight shot. Best call ahead first to make sure they will be open. They have some odd hours at times.
Michael Symon’s got two restaurants in Cleveland, Lola and Lolita.
Yelp the area and see what comes up.
I haven’t lived in Cleveland in five years, but the lack of representin’ here is shameful.
For Pizza, I second Baird’s recommendation of Antonio’s. The pizza is good, and their “big salad” dressing is excellent.
The Great Lakes Brewery in Ohio City (near downton) has great beer, and good food. Of course, one of you shouldn’t drink too much.
Finally, Aladdin’s Eatery is a local chain of Mediterranean restaurants that I miss. They have the obligatory pita wraps, but also some nice plates and soups. There are locations both on the west side and downtown.
Go to the Westside Market on 25th St. There’s a stall that sells sausages inna bun. Get the brat or the kiebasa–either is great. Eat it on a hard roll with spicy brown mustard. It’s a great lunch deal, and very Ethnic ™. The sausages come from one of the other market vendors. While you’re in that neighborhood, go to Athena’s. It’s the same Athena bakery that sells frozen filo dough and other Greek items in the grocery stores, but if you go to the store on (I think it is) Lorain Av, you can get Greek pastries fresh. Yummmmmm.
For fancy eating, it’s been such a long time that I’ve eaten out when visiting the family. Usually I buy the fixings for a really nice dinner at my mom’s, and then make the dinner.
Thanks for the input. We aren’t looking for fancy eating as much as good eating.
I dunno about the food, but pick up a copy of The Sandusky Register and read some of my reviews! :D
If you’re going to be in the Cleveland area, dear god do yourself a favor and check out Melt Bar and Grilled. It’s an amazingly well stocked bar in a great spot, and the kitchen serves like 20+ kinds of these amazing gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. They’re absolutely unbelievable. Not quite in Cleveland, but on the very west edge of it in Lakewood, Ohio. Less than 10 minutes from downtown.
Website for the place is here: http://www.meltbarandgrilled.com/home.html
Antonio’s pizza is good, but whenever I stop by the Cleveland area or more specifically Parma, I always make time to eat at Marsella’s pizza (off of York road). No one here has probably ever heard off it, because it is a small family run shop (simliarly to how Antonios started), but it is incredible. I have been eating there since I was a kid and it is my favorite pizza country wide. Fair warning: It is a tad bit greasy… but in a good way.
Hey! We’re gonna stop in Pittsburgh for one night. What’s good eatin’ there?
How fancy are you looking for? On the fancy side, there’s:
[ul]
[li]Casbah, which does nice Mediterranean stuff and has a good wine list and cocktails. Get the Elysian Fields lamb, which is local and deliciously tender.[/li][li]Soba, which is owned by the same folks as Casbah and does excellent pan-Asian fusion stuff. Also good cocktails, though they tend to be a little sweet. If they’re doing a special tasting menu, always choose that. They’ve never disappointed me.[/li][li]Mio, which is excellent ‘New American’ fanciness. Expensive, but worth it. They have the fancy-dining service experience nailed.[/li][li]Lidia’s, run by Lidia Bastianich. Excellent Italian, with an outstanding weekend brunch. Their house-made pasta sampler is great and also an immense quantity of food.[/li][li]Monterey Bay, which is a decent seafood place with an incredible view of the city from up high. They’re on the 22nd floor of a building on the edge of Mount Washington, which overlooks the downtown area. You will basically be looking at a postcard view from your table.[/li][li]Dish, which does Italian/Mediterranean stuff with a focus on Sicilian food. Tiny, crowded, and fantastic. Excellent cocktail list and a good lounge scene in the bar area.[/li][/ul]
Cheaper there’s:
[ul]
[li]Primanti Brothers, the stereotypical giant Pittsburgh sandwiches with the fries and coleslaw inside. Yeah, I know. They’re actually pretty damn good, especially the capicola and cheese. Get a Yuengling or a Penn Pilsner with yours for extra local flavor.[/li][li]D’s Six Pax and Dogs started out as a dodge around the PA liquor laws by a local beer distributor. It’s turned into a really good hot dog place that happens to also sell 900 different kinds of beer.[/li][li]Harris Grill, a funky bar/restaurant with good food, beer, and cocktails. If you’re in town on a Tuesday, it’s Bacon Night. Free baskets of bacon at the bar.[/li][li]The Sharp Edge, a Belgian bar and restaurant. The food’s good but not great, but the owner got knighted by Belgium for his service to their beer industry. If it’s Belgian and in a bottle, you will almost certainly find it at the Edge.[/li][li]Point Brugge, a Belgian cafe focusing more on the food. The beer’s nothing special, but the moules frites are awesome.[/li][li]Fat Heads, another beer bar with good food. Nice wings, and a long list of sandwiches the size of your head. They call 'em Headwiches and serve them with little pimento olives stuck on top as eyes. Two people should probably split one. My favorite is the Bay Of Pigs, a Cuban sandwich made with habanero wing sauce.[/li][li]Tessaro’s, a wood-fired grill place. They do fish and chicken and whatnot, but you come here for beef. Excellent steaks and very good burgers. They also do a surprisingly good spinach salad with chunks of grilled steak on top. The only flaw in their burgers is that they don’t do fries; if you can accept potato salad or home fries with your burger, you’ll be okay.[/li][li]Piccolo Forno, which does real thin-crust Northern Italian pizzas in a giant brick oven. This isn’t a pick-three-toppings place; you pick the set pizzas they have, and then you are incredibly happy. They sell other stuff, but if you don’t get the pizza here you’re doing it wrong.[/li][/ul]
If you’re looking for any type of food in particular, I’m happy to give you more specific recommendations.
nlanza, thanks! That’s more than enough choices for one night!