The Restaurant Thread

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

@MediumBaller is really going to miss his Popcorn Tofu Nuggets if this closes

In my opinion, there's no way TownHall closes down due to this.

 

[Rich]

Tiny little place in Bexley on Main Street called Newfangled Kitchen.

If you're looking for a different type of sandwich place, I'm telling you this is it. They have a decent selection of different things, but their specialty are meatloaf sandwiches and they are fantastic.

 

[Rich]

Gonna keep this up.

Schmidt's in German Village. German fare. The sauerkraut balls were excellent. Some of you may have heard of it if you live in the area, and even if you don't. They've been featured on Man vs. Food.

On the flip side, McCormick and Schmicks at Easton was...meh. Very pricey and just not worth it. I've had better fish for half the price.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Gonna keep this up.

Schmidt's in German Village. German fare. The sauerkraut balls were excellent. Some of you may have heard of it if you live in the area, and even if you don't. They've been featured on Man vs. Food.

On the flip side, McCormick and Schmicks at Easton was...meh. Very pricey and just not worth it. I've had better fish for half the price.

I thought I read that McCormick and Schmick's went under. Must've not been all locations as it seems Columbus is still open.

It's an overpriced seafood chain. Definitely nothing special.

Schmidt's is a great suggestion. Been a while since I went restaurant hopping in Columbus, but there were some really good vegan places on the Short North. Wofl's Ridge is one of the best stout breweries on the planet. Hoof Hearted is one of the best and most creative IPA breweries on the planet. Zaftig, closer to Easton, is pretty good too and much more chill than those other two. Pretentious is one of the better sour breweries you'll find as well. Columbus's beer scene is killing it right now.

Another spot in German Village (I think?) that stood out for fancy new coffee and breakfast/brunch was Fox in the Snow.

 

[Rich]

I thought I read that McCormick and Schmick's went under. Must've not been all locations as it seems Columbus is still open.

It's an overpriced seafood chain. Definitely nothing special.

Schmidt's is a great suggestion. Been a while since I went restaurant hopping in Columbus, but there were some really good vegan places on the Short North. Wofl's Ridge is one of the best stout breweries on the planet. Hoof Hearted is one of the best and most creative IPA breweries on the planet. Zaftig, closer to Easton, is pretty good too and much more chill than those other two. Pretentious is one of the better sour breweries you'll find as well. Columbus's beer scene is killing it right now.

Another spot in German Village (I think?) that stood out for fancy new coffee and breakfast/brunch was Fox in the Snow.

Have you happened to try Smith and Wollensky? Right close to where Mccormick and Schmicks is. All steaks, very pricey but massive cuts of meat. I plan to go next month and try it out.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Have you happened to try Smith and Wollensky? Right close to where Mccormick and Schmicks is. All steaks, very pricey but massive cuts of meat. I plan to go next month and try it out.

Nope. It's REALLY rare for me to go to a steakhouse. It's one of the easiest things to perfect at home, and one of the priciest things to eat out.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

From everything I’ve read, Sawyer is a great chef and a horrendous businessman. Sounds like he became an absentee owner, especially at GHT. Had over $500k in unpaid loans accompanied by 7.5% interest. Kitchen at GHT was starting to fall into disrepair (an oven went completely unused because the door was busted and kept opening during service but was ultimately just drilled shut).

Looks like he’s also been removed as executive chef at Sawyer’s (Van Aken) and Seesaw (Columbus), which he doesn’t even own (Forward Hospitality owns and operates those properties). It’s an astounding, and rapid, fall from grace.

Update on Sawyer. Per some reports from last month, he landed in Chicago where he'll helm a new restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel. The restaurant is tentatively set to open this fall.

Probably for the best that he's in a situation that allows him to focus his creative energies solely on crafting great food and not trying to run a business.

 

[Man Called X]

I know it was mentioned here. Shy Cellars in Strasburg is not reopening.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

Wife and I had an awesome meal at Alea in Ohio City this past weekend. They offer a five or eight course tasting on Friday and Saturday evenings. Only seating is at 7 p.m. It's a small-ish space to begin with but they did a great job with distancing protocols (including staff, there were maybe 20 people in the whole place), made sure their entire staff, both FOH and BOH (it's an open kitchen) was masked and had hand sanitizer on every table. We were in and out of there in under 90 minutes. Had been doing a lot of takeout and a little outdoor dining at our local, suburban restaurants so it was nice to have a small sense of normalcy, if only for one night.

 

[Rich]

Hole in the wall Italian Restaurant in Gahanna called Lola & Giuseppes.

They have an item on the menu called the Pasta Fritto and I'm just gonna copy the description straight from the menu. I cannot recommend this thing enough. It's delicious.

Antonio's recipe features a cream sauce with mozzarella, provolone, and romano cheeses. We fold cooked spaghetti through it and pack it into a loaf; after a coating of bread crumbs, we fry it to a crunchy golden brown. Served on a bed of our house marinara sauce.

Best 9 bucks you'll spend all year I promise.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

Well, in news that absolutely blows, Sokolowski's is closing after nearly 100 years in business. Won a James Beard Award as an American Classic back in 2014. Tremendous loss for the Cleveland restaurant community.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

Another local stalwart closing its doors permanently.

Michael Symon Closes Flagship Eatery Lola Bistro After 24 Years, Citing Covid Crisis as Untenable

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Michael Symon’s flagship restaurant Lola Bistro is closed and will not reopen. The James Beard Award-winning chef announced the news to Scene...

www.clevescene.com

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Another local stalwart closing its doors permanently.

Michael Symon Closes Flagship Eatery Lola Bistro After 24 Years, Citing Covid Crisis as Untenable

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Michael Symon’s flagship restaurant Lola Bistro is closed and will not reopen. The James Beard Award-winning chef announced the news to Scene...

www.clevescene.com

Gonna be a lot more.

Lots of places are gonna shut doors due to COVID. Commercial construction is gonna go down to basically zero. Rent is going to plummet as well.

With that low rent, people will move in and we'll get some new growth. It's gonna take a little bit of time though.

 

[inliner311]

Another local stalwart closing its doors permanently.

Michael Symon Closes Flagship Eatery Lola Bistro After 24 Years, Citing Covid Crisis as Untenable

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Michael Symon’s flagship restaurant Lola Bistro is closed and will not reopen. The James Beard Award-winning chef announced the news to Scene...

www.clevescene.com

He is also closing 2 of his B-spot locations. Keeping the B-spot in Eton open and keeping his BBQ place on east 4th open. My guess those are the two places that have solid take out and delivery orders.

I think some places need to face the reality of the situation and go lean, maybe cutting off dine in all together and sadly the excess staff that goes with it. Make a pandemic menu and pricing targeting carryout and delivery.

Like why would a family buy take out B-spot and spend at least $60-70 when they can go a tier below to Five Guys and spend half as much. I've seen the restaurants that are doing well understand the need to target people with carry out specials. The ones doing real well are the ones making family size specials at a price just slightly above fast casual places.

 

[inliner311]

Well, in news that absolutely blows, Sokolowski's is closing after nearly 100 years in business. Won a James Beard Award as an American Classic back in 2014. Tremendous loss for the Cleveland restaurant community.

Just a FYI on this. They have been trying to sell their business and building for years. It would pop up on commerical real estate listing all the time when I was browsing.