Many of Cleveland’s best eateries reviewed for you by Eric Batke ’12

Eric Batke

Senior Staff Writer

Although there are plentiful dining options in the city of Wooster, often times the local culinary experience can become stagnant. While restaurants such as Broken Rocks, Spoon and Matso’s Family Restaurant & Pizza provide a fun evening with a well-made meal, overall the restaurants in downtown Wooster lack menus which provide both balance and intriguing options. For those who are willing to make the trip, Cleveland boasts an array of establishments that can only be found in a big city.

Of course, one cannot mention Cleveland dining without Michael Symon’s name coming up. Symon, a member of the Food Network’s legion of Iron Chefs, owns three restaurants in the greater Cleveland area: Lola, Lolita and B Spot. Lola and Lolita offer a much more refined culinary experience than anything found in Wooster, with dishes such as Duck Confit (Lola) and Roasted Bone Marrow (Lolita). B Spot, located further outside the city, is named for its three Bs: burgers, brats and beer. It is definitely the most casual of Symon’s three restaurants.

Four shops down the shopping plaza from B Spot sits Paladar, a Nuevo-Latino restaurant with high class and modest prices. Paladar holds claim to one of the best specialty mixed drinks in the city, an exquisite rum drink called the Paladar Libre (Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Navy Rum and Licor 43). The dinner menu’s standout, and the author’s favorite dish in the city, is the Rum Glazed Pork Cubano, which contains meltingly tender pulled pork served with bacon black beans and coconut-mango rice.

Indeed, there are plentiful options outside of the city in Cleveland Heights, most notably Melt Bar and Grilled, which is known for the brutal Melt Challenge featured on Man vs. Food. Melt is by-and-large a grilled cheese restaurant that serves a multitude of unique takes on the traditionally simple sandwich, from the simple Porky Cheese (honey ham, bacon and swiss) to the fan-favorite Parmageddon (potato and cheese pierogies, Napa vodka kraut, onions and sharp cheddar). It gets better: for the month of November, Melt is featuring Thanksgiving as only they can. The New Bomb Turkey consists of mesquite smoked turkey breast, sage stuffing, roasted butternut squash, gravy and muenster, and is served with a cranberry dipping sauce.

Cleveland Heights is also home to Geraci’s, one of Cleveland’s best-kept secrets that is quickly becoming a darling of the Travel Channel. Geraci’s, open since the summer of 1956, boasts a fully formed and extensive Italian menu. However, its true specialty is pizza. Simply put, it is the best pizza you can find, and it rivals traditional Chicago and Brooklyn pizzas in terms of quality.

Cleveland is not the most convenient drive for students at The College of Wooster, so the trip would most likely have to consist of more activities than just a trip to a new restaurant. With that in mind, there aren’t many better options for an eventful evening than Coventry, a trendy neighborhood right outside Cleveland that is home to, among other things, a popular bar/concert venue called The Grog Shop. Tommy’s Restaurant is a prominent restaurant in Coventry, and all that really needs to be said about the modest establishment is “best falafel ever.” About a quarter-mile down the road from Tommy’s is a franchise of Cleveland’s finest sandwich shop, Dave’s Cosmic Subs. Dave’s has a straightforward menu that has a certain beauty in its simplicity. The sandwiches contain the freshest of ingredients packed into a crusty loaf of French bread and smothered with Dave’s Original Cosmic Sauce. Taste the sauce once and you’ll be buying a bottle to bring back to Wooster. While no sandwich is heads-and-shoulders above the rest, two of the most popular are the Crazy Dave (prosciutto, capicola and hot peppers) and Dave’s Far Out Chicken, which is so succulent that you won’t even notice that its outrageous heat is making you cry.

Of course, Cleveland is home to other restaurants which are just as worthy of the praise issued above. Aladdin’s, Momocho Mod Mex and Swenson’s are just three more of the many fine establishments in the greater Cleveland area. Whether you’re looking for somewhere new to impress a hot date or you just want a change of pace and don’t mind driving, Cleveland surely has something that is sure to leave you satiated and satisfied.