Eating in Northeast Ohio, 2023 Edition

I spent my wee years in northeast Ohio, and I love the friends and family who are here, but returning always has a stifling feeling, one I've written a bit about in my post on the Little Falls Cheese Festival. I return though yearly out of love for the people who stay.

One trip back to northeast Ohio a couple years ago, I ate at a taco joint a couple friends had raved about only to find bacon and ranch on the menu; tacos that were made with cold, un-warmed tortillas; and "birria" broth made from carton beef broth with extra salt added and a few pinches too many of cinnamon.

Suffice to say, I wasn't exactly keen to spend at northeast Ohio restaurants that have increased their prices and kept them higher, in a lot of cases $2 or $3 short of what I pay at some places in NYC, even as the price of ingredients decreases.

However one does not always stay the course when friends and family are involved. Thanks to them (and in one case thanks to a hike) I did a little bit of eating out while I was home in northeast Ohio. Nothing I've eaten so far in northeast Ohio beats the food we can get in NYC, but some things are acceptable for the area.

Shawarma Brothers (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)

My dad loves that anytime anyone, including himself, walks into Shawarma Brothers in Cuyahoga Falls, the ladies working the counter seem genuinely happy to have you at their restaurant. He wasn't lying: we were warmly greeted when we went in on a weekday afternoon to grab a chicken shawarma bowl, gyro wrap, and butternut cream soup.

The hummus was very light on tahini, and all of the homemade accoutrements were fresh and delicious. The leathery texture of the chicken shawarma put a damper on the flavor though, and the rice was a bit too soft.

The butternut and cream soup was fantastic though.

Overall, Shawarma Brothers is a solid place for a fairly priced, giant shawarma bowl or wrap.

3 Palms Pizzeria (Hudson, Ohio)

When I lived in northeast Ohio, my favorite pizzeria was 3 Palms in Hudson, Ohio, and my favorite pizza there was the funghi, an umami combo of wild mushrooms, onions, house smoked mozzarella, parm, and thyme, so I had to take my partner there post-hiking in Peninsula.

Even though the funghi is no longer on the menu, the server hooked us up. So after picking at the trio of bruschetta, one of which had too much Gorgonzola pressed into it (classic tomato was best and refreshing), and munching through crispy artichokes accompanied by delicious fried capers and a weakly flavored mayo dipping sauce, the pizza came.

It was not the pizza of Christmas past. 😭

It was terribly salty from a terribly heavy sprinkling of seasoning salt clumping up over the entire surface. 😭 Disappointment. "Welcome to northeast Ohio, here is my favorite pizza, now enjoy the salty mushrooms." We initially enjoyed the smoky mushrooms, but grew tired of it real fast. It was overwhelming. Next time I won't ask about the funghi. I'll just be good and order from the menu.

At least the crust was still chewy and flavorful.

Cashmere Cricket (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)

The first time my best friend of 15 years, Liz, tried to take me to Cashmere Cricket, a cocktail bar in Cuyahoga Falls in northeast Ohio, they were fully booked for the night. Second time's the charm though so we finally got our $6 happy hour martinis.

I rightfully didn't expect much by way of creative flavors or techniques, but I should have known I would like it because my jam is unpretentious, affordable cocktail bars. Two of my favorite in NYC are the chill Belvedere Lounge NYC (also called B Lounge NYC) in East Village and Mosaic in Astoria. I won't claim that Cashmere Cricket in northeast Ohio is in the same league as either of those, but Cashmere Cricket gets a pass for being chill and delicious enough.

The Perfect Pistachio ($6) tasted expectantly like Bailey's, just a little nuttier thanks to the pistachio syrup. They could have gone a lot heavier with it since the flavor wasn't very pronounced.

I ordered a chocolate berries two minutes to end of happy hour and was charged full price ($11) for it (No big deal. Server was cool and I should have asked). Vodka was found, but promised berry vodka? No where to be found. I'm suspicious the Dark Godiva chocolate liqueur was substituted with a mixture of whole milk and Hersey's syrup. I liked this one a lot less than the Perfect Pistachio.

I didn't expect their peppers stuffed with chicken apple sausage and chorizo sausage blend ($15) to be any good, but it was fantastic. It's all in the sausage, really, and enhanced by decent pomodoro, which they had.

Cool Beans (Medina, Ohio)

Liz also took me to Cool Beans in Medina, to share a seasonal flight of four coffee concoctions ($11): Sleigh Rides (peppermint mocha), Peace on Earth (cinnamon chai with oatmilk), Yuletide (eggnog redeye), and Mistletoe (cookie butter latte with whipped cream and cinnamon). Decaf because caffeine is a no-no after 2PM for me. Instead of tasting like coffee, they tasted of, well, sweet, which is okay by me because I'm no coffee purist. My favorite was the Peace on Earth.

I got half of a cranberry chicken salad sandwich on white bread with cheddar cheese and a cup of French onion soup for the low price of $7. The portion was large. The dried cranberries lent a sweet-tart that was further tempered by the sharp cheddar.

We also stopped at Black Cat Books & Oddities, a cute and cozy bookstore in the area.

Restoration 44 Coffee Company (Mantua, Ohio)

My best friend also tipped me off to the other cafe she knew of that had coffee flights: Restoration 44 Coffee Company in Mantua, Ohio. My partner and I worked here a bit on a very grey late afternoon (I forgot that northeast Ohio is always so grey!).

The cafe is spacious, new and very rustically decorated for Christmas (MVP: cute spiny porcupine ornament!). Parking was plentiful. Along with coffee, Restoration 44 Coffee Company sells locally made goods like earrings and elderberry syrup, as well as local honey.

I bought an almond muffin that was so fluffy inside, and crisp and coarse sugar-studded on the muffin top that it successfully evaded the camera (but not tummy!).

The flight though was pretty damn sweet, sweeter than the other at Cool Beans. My partner thought the sprinkles were a weird move.

They were voted best coffee shop in northeast Ohio, which I would like to contest. Scribbles Coffee Co. in Kent, Ohio is the best coffee shop.

Salt (Lakewood, Ohio)

Ahh yes. Salt, a small plates restaurant in Lakewood. Source of my greatest disappointment.

I ate here two years ago with my father and sister for her birthday and it was fantastic.

This time, the digs looked the same, but this time there was a great undertone of...some sort of disdain and the quality of the food was just not there.

The assortment of interest non-alcoholic cocktails they offer was pleasing though. I ordered the Full Circle ($10), containing Giffard Aperitif, mango chai, orgeat, guava syrup, and lime.

We ordered four dishes: the venison; scallop; chicken liver pate; and panisse. I kept a menu in case we wanted to order more, but by the end of it, we did not want to lay another $15 to $20 on a very small plate holding three bites of food, which seemed to irk the server.

I would challenge you to find a more perfectly cooked scallop though. It's easy to overcook venison into jerky, but Salt perfectly cooked it too.

Next time I'm in northeast Ohio, we won't be hitting Salt again. We have other dishes to devour.