Food Across America: Cleveland, OH
Great food in quiet neighborhoods—and downtown
After a recent visit to Cleveland, I’m convinced that the locals are trying to keep the best restaurants to themselves. The city is polishing up its downtown, but I found most of the best food in Tremont and Ohio City, two quieter, tree-lined neighborhoods on the other side of the Cuyahoga River.
In now-hip Tremont, for example, F&W Best New Chef 1998 Michael Symon has launched a cozy spot called Lolita (900 Literary Rd.; 216-771-5652) serving European-inspired comfort food like an incredible gnocchi Bolognese made with house-cured meat. Symon was a pioneer in Tremont when he opened his restaurant Lola there 11 years ago; he recently moved Lola downtown (2058 E. Fourth St.; 216-621-5652) and installed Lolita in its old space.
I picked up a perfectly spiced ginger cookie at Lucky’s Café in Tremont (777 Starkweather Ave.; 216-622-7773), where pastry chef and owner Heather Haviland just added a bakery and garden for her weekend brunches.
Over in historic Ohio City, chef Matthew Mathlage at the new Light Bistro (2801 Bridge Ave.; 216-771-7130) admits he’s trying to expand Cleveland’s culinary repertoire with his Mediterranean- and Asian-inspired dishes, like a fantastic lemongrass-chile pickled shrimp.
Although I focused mostly on new food spots, local experts insisted I check out two of the city’s more established restaurants. At Fire, in the affluent Shaker Heights suburb (13220 Shaker Sq.; 216-921-3473), I loved everything that came out of chef Doug Katz’s tandoor oven, especially the luscious pork crêpes topped with pepper relish and a fried egg. And I almost changed my flight to stay for dinner at Ohio City’s nine-year-old Flying Fig (2523 Market Ave.; 216-241-4243) after trying chef Karen Small’s crackly-crisp tempura-fried green beans with a peppery curried yogurt. Small (in photo above) says she is happy to remain under the radar, and I bet her fiercely loyal regulars prefer it that way, too.
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