So as the self proclaimed queen of frugality....here is my assessment of the best restaurants for Cleveland Independents Restaurant week (November 1-13). My assessment is going to be divided in to 2 categories...less than $30 per person meal and the $30 per person meal. What I looked at for the over $30 meal was the creativity of the menu and the value. so here are my picks!
$30 per person Meal
Sarava- Sarava is normally an amazing restaurant and their choice for the prix fixe menu is interesting and fun. My choice start with the Crispy Duck Ravioli with the plum aioli; move on to the Pistachio Crusted Trout served with artichoke pilaf, asperagus, and cilantro butter; finish it off with the Coconut Butter Cake. They do offer 3-4 choices under each course but these to me sound amazing and are well worht the $30!
Pier W. Pier W always provides a solid meal and the choices for restuarant week will not disappoint. What really turns me on to this menu is the Baby Spinach Salad with 3 minute egg, raspberry and herb parmesan dressing (for those who love fish they also have a Lemon Fried Oyster with pickled vegetables and ginger cream); second course includes a Grilled Miuso Glazed Cobia with tempura vegetables, and sticky rice; desert includes a pumpkin cheesecake.
Hyde Park. This is another favorite of mine, especially for happy hour. This menu may be the one with the greatest value that still is a little interesting. For starters you have the option of Lobster Bisque or their Signature Salad; the main course includes Atlantic Salmon with a tropical salsa and blood orange sauce or, for the meat lovers, Bacon Wrapped Twin Filet Mignon with whipped potatoes; for dessert try the amazing double layer chocolate cake- it will not disappoint.
Grovewood Tavern Grovewood is one of my favorite palces to go for upsale wonderful comfort food. For Restaurant week you need to check out their website as their menu is constantly changing. The one I checked out today does not disappoint. You can start with a handmade Salmon Empanada; continue to the main course with Zinfandel Shirt Ribs with cranberries and whipped potatoes; finish it off with lava cake. At Grovewood you can add wine pairing for each course for only $14 more.
Under $30 per person
Creekside This one has an amazing choice for lunch., For only $10 you get Lobster Bisque, the choice of one entree and one side. Thi sis a full meal at lunch for a low low price. Creekside has wonderfully prepared food and a great atmosphere.
Tremont Tap House. There prix fixe menu is only $25 (and personally I think it is better than some of the other $30 menus). You can start out with Miso R amen Bowl with a poached egg and bamboo shoots; move onto a mail course of Braised boneless beef shortribs with red wine cabbage and smoked celery root; finish it off with Pot de Creme with a Lambic shooter and Grand Marnier whipped cream.
There are some that are honorable mentions, meaning the menu is interesting but not as great value wise as the others listed or a great value but the menu is not interesting. So for honorable mention we have Luxe, Red, Parallax, and Light Bistro.
I hope this guide helps in choosing your place for Cleveland Independents Restaurant week!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Beer Wek Deals!
Cleveland is celebrating Beer Week with great events all over the city. As a frugal blogger, I am going to highlight a few that sound like a great deal for the money. There are definitely higher end events that are probably amazing, but I am focusing on frugality. You can check out the website clevelandbeerweek.org for additional activities. They are sorted by day. There are so many activities going on all over the city that I in no way intend for this blog to cover all the great events. I am just highlighting a few that sound great and affordable to me!
Food Truck Beer Dinner:
I know, I want people to experience good food at a great deal and I am writing about food trucks. The food trucks involved in this beer dinner serve high end food and not what you would traditionally think of as food truck food. It is a great deal including 10 tastings (5 from Sierra Nevada and 5 from Columbus Brewing Company), a food course from Fahrenheit’s Shortrib1, Dim and Den Sum, Hodge Podge, Umami Moto, and Sweet Mobile Cupcakery for only $35. Each beer is paired with a course from a food truck. While I am not a huge beer drinker…cupcakes and beer sounds delightful! The event is on October 21 starting at 7 pm outside of Southside (purchase tickets on their website) in Tremont and to make it even better….a portion of all ticket sales will go to the Malone Scholarship Fund. Great food and a cause! You can make the event VIP and start an hour earlier for an extra $15 which will include specialty appetizers, additional beer, and pictures with brew masters and chefs.
Lily’s Handmade Chocolates:
If you have not tried Lily’s just for the chocolate, this is a great way to try her wonderful chocolate paired with beer! On !0/20/11 she is hosting a beer and chocolate pairing for only $15. The pairing includes 4 of her handmade, amazing chocolates and various beer tagged as homebrews on the listing. It starts at noon and goes until 7:30 pm and it is on a first come first serve basis until the items are gone. To get 6 pieces of her chocolate is typically $11, so for $15 you are getting 4 tastings and beer! That to me is a great deal and something different during beer week.
XYZ Tavern:
XYZ is one of my favorite places and for beer week they are doing a tasting of 4 ales, and you get to keep the snifter, for $15. The tasting is almost every night of the week during beer week and I chose this because it sounds like something interesting. The tasting includes : Lexington Brewery Kentucky Light, Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Bourbon Ale, and Woodford Reserve.
These are three of my suggestions and I am hoping to make it to at least one of these events if not all three!
Coming soon…Cleveland Independents Restaurant Week. I will be looking at the menus when posted and give you my suggestions for the best deal among those participating. The gift certificates for Cleveland Independent’s restaurants went on sale on Thursday, many sold out within 10 minutes, but there are still some great ones left to check out the restaurant at a reduced rate!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Prix Fixe Meals and Deals!
One of my favorite ways to try a restaurant and get a good deal are prix fixe menus. There are many different ways to experience this delight of a 3 course meal for around $30 a person. There are various groups that sponsor these meals as well as individual restaurants having special tastings. Looking for these options allows for almost anyone to afford an expensive restaurant or to try something new. Today's blog will discuss a recent attendance at a prix fixe meal in Youngstown and this week's Patio Week downtown.
On Saturday September 10, 2011, I attended an amazing meal in Youngstown at Joe's Restaurant. It was a 4 course dinner for $38 prepared by Chef Joe Marsco, a Youngstown native, who currently runs 2 prestigious restaurants in Las Vegas. He is an amazing chef and the food and driver were worth it. The meal could be paired with wine for an additional $12. (I passed on the wine because I had to drive back to Cleveland that night). The dinner started off with an antipasto which included tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, roasted peppers, and roasted eggplant served with garlic crostini. The vegetables were perfectly roasted and seasoned and the mozzarella was drizzled with a bit of pesto. For the primi, or pasta course, we sampled the Fritzulli with broccoli rabe and chili toasted bread crumbs and the Agnolotti with swiss chard and a sage and brown butter sauce. Again the pasta was perfectly cooked and seasoned and the accompaniments were fresh and delicious. I was delighted by the chili breadcrumbs as I love anything with a bit of spice! La Corsa Secondi was also absolutely amazing. The branzino with olive oil, summer squash, carrots, and fingerling potatoes was the perfect blend of flavors. The fish was cooked perfectly and melted in your mouth. The roasted fillet with mushroom, caramelized shallots, Barolo sauce and fried mashed potatoes were beautiful on the plate. Each bite was better then the prior. The meal was finished off perfectly with a trio of dolci! There was a baba with limoncello, cannolo a strati, and a budino di amaretti. The chocolate, lemon, and ricotta all blended together even as each was an individual bite. The meal was perfect and a great value at only $38 per person.
So for those of you looking for future prix fixe events, you can experience these meals and deals this week at the Downtown Cleveland Alliance Patio Week. There are 23 participating restaurants serving lunch and/or dinner for $15/$30 per three course meal. Some of the restaurants have 2 for $30 3-course meals. The website list the participating restaurants and menus for many of them. http://downtownclevelandalliance.com/events/patio-week-/participating-restaurants--special-events.aspx In looking at the list here are a few of my favorites that I am looking to try this week. Johnny's Downtown dinner menu including an heirloom tomato salad, smoked bacon wrapped fillet with Gorgonzola cheese, and bananas foster. Chinato's dinner menu including Roasted corn and arugula salad, roasted cod with beets, and lemon polenta cake. For lunch I would love to try the $15 meal from Lola including spicy tomato bisque, mac and cheese with chicken, and panna cotta for dessert.
I am hoping to write about some other great events coming in October and November including my favorite...Cleveland Independent's restaurant week. These prix fixe menus allow dinners to try new restaurants for a good deal. Many of these restaurants would cost easily upwards of $50 per person for these same menus on a normal night. A great way to stay on top of these deals is to sign up for newsletters from groups such as the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and Cleveland Independents.
Happy eating and dealing!
On Saturday September 10, 2011, I attended an amazing meal in Youngstown at Joe's Restaurant. It was a 4 course dinner for $38 prepared by Chef Joe Marsco, a Youngstown native, who currently runs 2 prestigious restaurants in Las Vegas. He is an amazing chef and the food and driver were worth it. The meal could be paired with wine for an additional $12. (I passed on the wine because I had to drive back to Cleveland that night). The dinner started off with an antipasto which included tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, roasted peppers, and roasted eggplant served with garlic crostini. The vegetables were perfectly roasted and seasoned and the mozzarella was drizzled with a bit of pesto. For the primi, or pasta course, we sampled the Fritzulli with broccoli rabe and chili toasted bread crumbs and the Agnolotti with swiss chard and a sage and brown butter sauce. Again the pasta was perfectly cooked and seasoned and the accompaniments were fresh and delicious. I was delighted by the chili breadcrumbs as I love anything with a bit of spice! La Corsa Secondi was also absolutely amazing. The branzino with olive oil, summer squash, carrots, and fingerling potatoes was the perfect blend of flavors. The fish was cooked perfectly and melted in your mouth. The roasted fillet with mushroom, caramelized shallots, Barolo sauce and fried mashed potatoes were beautiful on the plate. Each bite was better then the prior. The meal was finished off perfectly with a trio of dolci! There was a baba with limoncello, cannolo a strati, and a budino di amaretti. The chocolate, lemon, and ricotta all blended together even as each was an individual bite. The meal was perfect and a great value at only $38 per person.
So for those of you looking for future prix fixe events, you can experience these meals and deals this week at the Downtown Cleveland Alliance Patio Week. There are 23 participating restaurants serving lunch and/or dinner for $15/$30 per three course meal. Some of the restaurants have 2 for $30 3-course meals. The website list the participating restaurants and menus for many of them. http://downtownclevelandalliance.com/events/patio-week-/participating-restaurants--special-events.aspx In looking at the list here are a few of my favorites that I am looking to try this week. Johnny's Downtown dinner menu including an heirloom tomato salad, smoked bacon wrapped fillet with Gorgonzola cheese, and bananas foster. Chinato's dinner menu including Roasted corn and arugula salad, roasted cod with beets, and lemon polenta cake. For lunch I would love to try the $15 meal from Lola including spicy tomato bisque, mac and cheese with chicken, and panna cotta for dessert.
I am hoping to write about some other great events coming in October and November including my favorite...Cleveland Independent's restaurant week. These prix fixe menus allow dinners to try new restaurants for a good deal. Many of these restaurants would cost easily upwards of $50 per person for these same menus on a normal night. A great way to stay on top of these deals is to sign up for newsletters from groups such as the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and Cleveland Independents.
Happy eating and dealing!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Ethnic Church Feasts
As the summer winds down, so do the church festivals and the wonderful authentic ethnic economical food that can be purchased at the local church festivals. From the time I was a small child I loved going to the church festivals. The fresh Gyro's, fries, meatball subs, sausage sandwiches, and so many other things would tempt me. My mom and grandmother would always give us money to "run around and enjoy the festival" My cousin and friends liked playing the carny games and riding rides...me...I like cotton candy and caramel apples. As I grew up the ethnic eats became more and more interesting to me. So here is a very abbreviated guide to some ethnic festivals from this summer. I wish I had gone to more, maybe next year!
Memorial Day Weekend starts off festival season with the Greek Festival at the church in Tremont. The food outside is good- Gyro's, Souvlaki, Kebobs. But, for a true experience of the wonderful Greek food you need to go into the church hall and go through the liune where you can get wonderful sit down food including chicken, hummous, Greek salad, and so much more. After dinner you can explore the dessert line and feast on all types of baklava and custard filled desserts. What a great way to start off summer
Our Lady of Mount Carmel West- the week after Fourth of July. This is my favorite, since it is my church here in Cleveland. The festival has rides and games for the kids, casino and gambling for the adults, but more importantly it has amazing food! The options are mainly Italian, although one of the families at the church has a Mexican booth each year. You can either have a sit down meal or go the traditional fair route. The sit down meal served to your table includes cavatelli and meat balls, chicken dinner, or fish dinners on Friday. The cost varies from $8-$10 depending on what you purchase. There is plenty of food to bring some home for lunch the next day. My favorite thing to purchase is 3 meatballs in sauce for only $3. The Sausage sandwich with sauce is only $5 and the cavatelli and a meatball served outside is only $5. The perfect end to any meal is a bag of fresh hot zeppole (fried dough with powdered sugar) 3 for $2.50. I love spending my days at the festival working the zeppole stand and eating the meatballs!
A really good food festival that I do not endorse or think is worth the hype is the Feast of The Assumption in Little Italy. Everything is really good, but way over priced. If you want good gnocchi from La Dolce or cookies from Corbo's or anything else, go down and eat in the restaurants any time but during the feast! For example, a tiramisu, cookies, and coffee from Presti's would cost you around $8 on a normal day but over $20 during the feast for the same items. The $12 mark up is not worth it. Also you can go to Little Italy during the week or weekend and find a spot to park on the streets for free, during the feast it can cost you about $10 to park and you have to walk a long way. Nothing economical about this feast of ethnic eats...move on to somewhere else!
The greatest weekend for ethnic food feasts is Labor Day weekend. There are feasts and festivals all over the city. St. Rocco's has wonderful Italian food and the Greasy Pole on Monday and Oktoberfest at the Berea fairgrounds osts great German, Polish, Slavic, eats and beers. But I am going to write about 2 of the festivals I attended this year. Both are economical but only one is worth the time.
The first Annual Greek Fest in Kamm;s Corner at the Cretan Center can let this year be its first and only year to host such an event. I am only writing about food, so I will hold back on the lack of anything authentic about the festival itself (cheap jewelery vendors around the side of the hall is not authentic Greek). The food was well priced and a decent variety including Moussaka, Pastitos, Greek Chicken, and Lamb Shank all served with a side of either rice, Greek potatoes, or green beans for only $8. You could add a Greek salad or $3 or spanakopita for $1. The problem was with the food itself. It tasted fin, but I was sick on it afterwards. So the First Annual Greek Fest is a bust!
The best ethnic festival for the weekend was at St. Elias on Memphis. There were games and carnival rides for the kids and there were some cherry bells and wheels for the adults. Everyone though could enjoy the wonderful, authentic food that was very cheap! You could purchase a Gyro, Souvlaki, Falafel or Kefta sandwich for only $5. I had the kefta and it was really good on fresh pita with delicious tomato, onions and sauce. The tabbouli looked so vibrant and fresh. Dessert....fabulous baklava in all of its forms for $1-2 and filo filled with custard or fruit and custard for only $3.
As a side note, the OLA festival is coming up and they have some of the best cabbage and noodles!
So there is my "brief" description of some of my favorite and not so favorite summer ethnic food festivals. What I have learned over the years about these types of festivals is that the best bargain and most ethnic foods are sold by the church. If you go to a festival and there is an outside booth, it will never be as good or as fresh as the food you will get that was prepared by the church. The first thing I do when I go to these festivals is to check out the food in the church hall or the booths staffed by the parishioners of the parish. It is the cheapest and best!
Memorial Day Weekend starts off festival season with the Greek Festival at the church in Tremont. The food outside is good- Gyro's, Souvlaki, Kebobs. But, for a true experience of the wonderful Greek food you need to go into the church hall and go through the liune where you can get wonderful sit down food including chicken, hummous, Greek salad, and so much more. After dinner you can explore the dessert line and feast on all types of baklava and custard filled desserts. What a great way to start off summer
Our Lady of Mount Carmel West- the week after Fourth of July. This is my favorite, since it is my church here in Cleveland. The festival has rides and games for the kids, casino and gambling for the adults, but more importantly it has amazing food! The options are mainly Italian, although one of the families at the church has a Mexican booth each year. You can either have a sit down meal or go the traditional fair route. The sit down meal served to your table includes cavatelli and meat balls, chicken dinner, or fish dinners on Friday. The cost varies from $8-$10 depending on what you purchase. There is plenty of food to bring some home for lunch the next day. My favorite thing to purchase is 3 meatballs in sauce for only $3. The Sausage sandwich with sauce is only $5 and the cavatelli and a meatball served outside is only $5. The perfect end to any meal is a bag of fresh hot zeppole (fried dough with powdered sugar) 3 for $2.50. I love spending my days at the festival working the zeppole stand and eating the meatballs!
A really good food festival that I do not endorse or think is worth the hype is the Feast of The Assumption in Little Italy. Everything is really good, but way over priced. If you want good gnocchi from La Dolce or cookies from Corbo's or anything else, go down and eat in the restaurants any time but during the feast! For example, a tiramisu, cookies, and coffee from Presti's would cost you around $8 on a normal day but over $20 during the feast for the same items. The $12 mark up is not worth it. Also you can go to Little Italy during the week or weekend and find a spot to park on the streets for free, during the feast it can cost you about $10 to park and you have to walk a long way. Nothing economical about this feast of ethnic eats...move on to somewhere else!
The greatest weekend for ethnic food feasts is Labor Day weekend. There are feasts and festivals all over the city. St. Rocco's has wonderful Italian food and the Greasy Pole on Monday and Oktoberfest at the Berea fairgrounds osts great German, Polish, Slavic, eats and beers. But I am going to write about 2 of the festivals I attended this year. Both are economical but only one is worth the time.
The first Annual Greek Fest in Kamm;s Corner at the Cretan Center can let this year be its first and only year to host such an event. I am only writing about food, so I will hold back on the lack of anything authentic about the festival itself (cheap jewelery vendors around the side of the hall is not authentic Greek). The food was well priced and a decent variety including Moussaka, Pastitos, Greek Chicken, and Lamb Shank all served with a side of either rice, Greek potatoes, or green beans for only $8. You could add a Greek salad or $3 or spanakopita for $1. The problem was with the food itself. It tasted fin, but I was sick on it afterwards. So the First Annual Greek Fest is a bust!
The best ethnic festival for the weekend was at St. Elias on Memphis. There were games and carnival rides for the kids and there were some cherry bells and wheels for the adults. Everyone though could enjoy the wonderful, authentic food that was very cheap! You could purchase a Gyro, Souvlaki, Falafel or Kefta sandwich for only $5. I had the kefta and it was really good on fresh pita with delicious tomato, onions and sauce. The tabbouli looked so vibrant and fresh. Dessert....fabulous baklava in all of its forms for $1-2 and filo filled with custard or fruit and custard for only $3.
As a side note, the OLA festival is coming up and they have some of the best cabbage and noodles!
So there is my "brief" description of some of my favorite and not so favorite summer ethnic food festivals. What I have learned over the years about these types of festivals is that the best bargain and most ethnic foods are sold by the church. If you go to a festival and there is an outside booth, it will never be as good or as fresh as the food you will get that was prepared by the church. The first thing I do when I go to these festivals is to check out the food in the church hall or the booths staffed by the parishioners of the parish. It is the cheapest and best!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Reverse Happy Hour Shaker Square
The good news is that I found a fabulous reverse happy hour in Shaker Square, the bad news is I only found one reverse happy hour in Shaker Square.
Sarava in Shaker Square is the sister restaurant to Sergio's in University Circle and it offers amazing food and drinks. The hidden gem of a menu that I discovered on my trip was the reverse happy hour food and pricing. From 9:30pm until close, in the bar area, you can celebrate happy hour for only $12 for three plates and $1 off all drinks. The plates are small plates, but 3 would make a perfect dinner. The three I chose were the chicken passarinho, crisp Spanish cheese, and tamale cakes. There are other options that can be even more filling such as mini sliders, pizza, and a mini angel hair pasta quiche. Go with a group of friends and you can all order three different plates and share. The value is amazing for a cheap but fun night out.
As for the yummy food...everything was well prepared and quality products. The chicken is billed as spicy garlic and it has a nice kick to it. I prefer things a bit spicier, but it is a good heat level for most people and very tasty. The crisp Spanish cheese is exactly what it says...crisp fried cheese. It is served with a kalamata olive and tomato sauce. It is the right amount of salty and cheese flavors. The tamale cakes are grilled and served with a perfect balance of guacamole, ancho sauce and tomato relish.
I loved the entrees at Sarava and finding such great deals for $12 makes my trip from the West Side worthwhile!
The next blog will be coming after Labor day and will look at ethnic/church festivals! Enjoy your yummy eats and as always, I am open to ideas for future blogs!
Sarava in Shaker Square is the sister restaurant to Sergio's in University Circle and it offers amazing food and drinks. The hidden gem of a menu that I discovered on my trip was the reverse happy hour food and pricing. From 9:30pm until close, in the bar area, you can celebrate happy hour for only $12 for three plates and $1 off all drinks. The plates are small plates, but 3 would make a perfect dinner. The three I chose were the chicken passarinho, crisp Spanish cheese, and tamale cakes. There are other options that can be even more filling such as mini sliders, pizza, and a mini angel hair pasta quiche. Go with a group of friends and you can all order three different plates and share. The value is amazing for a cheap but fun night out.
As for the yummy food...everything was well prepared and quality products. The chicken is billed as spicy garlic and it has a nice kick to it. I prefer things a bit spicier, but it is a good heat level for most people and very tasty. The crisp Spanish cheese is exactly what it says...crisp fried cheese. It is served with a kalamata olive and tomato sauce. It is the right amount of salty and cheese flavors. The tamale cakes are grilled and served with a perfect balance of guacamole, ancho sauce and tomato relish.
I loved the entrees at Sarava and finding such great deals for $12 makes my trip from the West Side worthwhile!
The next blog will be coming after Labor day and will look at ethnic/church festivals! Enjoy your yummy eats and as always, I am open to ideas for future blogs!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Reverse Happy Hours-Tremont
Sometimes Friday happy hour just ends way too early. By the time you get out of work and decide what you want to do for the night...happy hour ends! So a great way to get happy hour deals later in the evening is reverse happy hours. This edition is going to give a review of Tremont Reverse Happy Hours, specifically one of my favorite restaurants.
The Bistro on Lincoln Park has amazing, fresh, well done, quality food any day of the week including Sunday Brunch. But if you want to enjoy the delicious food for a fraction of the price, the reverse happy hour fulfills the bill! On Friday the reverse happy hour begins at 9pm and continues until closing. On the menu is plenty of items that will make for a filling high quality dinner. One of my favorite items is the loaded tater tots. Seriously, are tater tots ever not a good food item and when you add bacon, smoked cheddar, scallions and creme fraiche. Sometimes tots can be a bit greasy or have too many toppings, but these are a perfect balance with the toppings. The next item that I love is the buffalo chicken confit. It is flavorful and spicy but not too hot. It includes a crisp celery salad and blue cheese. It is a great way to enjoy a "chicken wing". The total cost for this meal is $14. There are many other options on the happy hour menu including a Chicken Ceaser Salad, fries, burger and mac and cheese! This is one of my favorite restaurants and to get this quality this cheap is an amazing deal.
The other reverse happy hour in Tremont is at Lolita. This is a great deal for $5 a plate! My favorites here are the Lolita Burger with egg, bacon, cheddar and onion and the brussel sprouts with anchovies, capers and walnuts. The total cost of this meal is $10! The other items on the menu include mac and cheese, mussels, and eggplant dip. The atmosphere is amazing and sitting at the bar is a fun treat for this place. Friday nights here the Happy Hour starts at 10:30 and goes until close.
As always if anyone has any suggestions of places I am always open to suggestions.
The Bistro on Lincoln Park has amazing, fresh, well done, quality food any day of the week including Sunday Brunch. But if you want to enjoy the delicious food for a fraction of the price, the reverse happy hour fulfills the bill! On Friday the reverse happy hour begins at 9pm and continues until closing. On the menu is plenty of items that will make for a filling high quality dinner. One of my favorite items is the loaded tater tots. Seriously, are tater tots ever not a good food item and when you add bacon, smoked cheddar, scallions and creme fraiche. Sometimes tots can be a bit greasy or have too many toppings, but these are a perfect balance with the toppings. The next item that I love is the buffalo chicken confit. It is flavorful and spicy but not too hot. It includes a crisp celery salad and blue cheese. It is a great way to enjoy a "chicken wing". The total cost for this meal is $14. There are many other options on the happy hour menu including a Chicken Ceaser Salad, fries, burger and mac and cheese! This is one of my favorite restaurants and to get this quality this cheap is an amazing deal.
The other reverse happy hour in Tremont is at Lolita. This is a great deal for $5 a plate! My favorites here are the Lolita Burger with egg, bacon, cheddar and onion and the brussel sprouts with anchovies, capers and walnuts. The total cost of this meal is $10! The other items on the menu include mac and cheese, mussels, and eggplant dip. The atmosphere is amazing and sitting at the bar is a fun treat for this place. Friday nights here the Happy Hour starts at 10:30 and goes until close.
As always if anyone has any suggestions of places I am always open to suggestions.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Best Happy Hour
Keeping in the theme of the blog, please understand that I agree there are some great happy hours out there but I am talking about the cheapest for the quality. Lots of hole in the wall bars have $5 happy hours, that is not what I am looking at for this blog. Here are some of my favorite happy hours as discovered with my favorite diner!
The first happy hour we tried that had an amazing cost/quality ratio was at Pier W. Until 7 pm on weekdays the bar menu is half off! This means you get fabulous Pier W quality food for half price. On our outing we ordered Antipasto Pizza ($5), the Salmon BLT ($6) and the Angus Burger ($6). The sandwiches were served with a side of fries as well. We each also ordered a drink, which was on special. I had a vodka martini and he enjoyed a cucumber vodka lemonade each for $5.25. Alcohol will always up the bill and can at times become half of the bill. So for my gourmet on a budget, you may have to forgo the drinks if it cramps the budget. Dinner, however, cost $17 plus tax and tip for 2 people at Pier W. Most normal entrees are at least $17. This is a win!
The second upscale happy hour was at Fat Cats. This restaurant is forgotten in the wonderful land of Tremont. The happy hour though may be the best on the cost/quality ratio. That night we had way more food then we needed because we did not realize how large the portion sizes were for the price. We started with the lamb and goat cheese empanadas ($4) there were 3 to the order. I then enjoyed a chorizo omelet ($4) and a side salad ($2.50) and he enjoyed his angus burger with fries($5). For a total of $15.50 we had a full dinner. It was amazing the amount of food we got for the price. It was sad though that the bar area was empty on a Friday night.
The last of our favorite happy hours is the one we can walk to each day at Brother's Lounge. During happy hour they have a discount on the drinks. But they also have reduced priced appetizers until 7 pm. Unfortunately, due to our frequenting of this place I cannot remember how much we spent on each trip, but the average for food for both of us was around $15 for the food. Now Brother's Lounge is not the same level of quality as Pier W or Fat Cats, but it is very good and the quality for the price is expected. The fact that it was walking distance made it an excellent choice for any random week night!
Feel free to share your tips and best happy hours as well! I need to start frequenting the happy hour scene and start trying some new places. We enjoyed many other places, but on the cost/quality ratio they were pretty standard. Next blog I might write about reverse happy hours at some great places!
The first happy hour we tried that had an amazing cost/quality ratio was at Pier W. Until 7 pm on weekdays the bar menu is half off! This means you get fabulous Pier W quality food for half price. On our outing we ordered Antipasto Pizza ($5), the Salmon BLT ($6) and the Angus Burger ($6). The sandwiches were served with a side of fries as well. We each also ordered a drink, which was on special. I had a vodka martini and he enjoyed a cucumber vodka lemonade each for $5.25. Alcohol will always up the bill and can at times become half of the bill. So for my gourmet on a budget, you may have to forgo the drinks if it cramps the budget. Dinner, however, cost $17 plus tax and tip for 2 people at Pier W. Most normal entrees are at least $17. This is a win!
The second upscale happy hour was at Fat Cats. This restaurant is forgotten in the wonderful land of Tremont. The happy hour though may be the best on the cost/quality ratio. That night we had way more food then we needed because we did not realize how large the portion sizes were for the price. We started with the lamb and goat cheese empanadas ($4) there were 3 to the order. I then enjoyed a chorizo omelet ($4) and a side salad ($2.50) and he enjoyed his angus burger with fries($5). For a total of $15.50 we had a full dinner. It was amazing the amount of food we got for the price. It was sad though that the bar area was empty on a Friday night.
The last of our favorite happy hours is the one we can walk to each day at Brother's Lounge. During happy hour they have a discount on the drinks. But they also have reduced priced appetizers until 7 pm. Unfortunately, due to our frequenting of this place I cannot remember how much we spent on each trip, but the average for food for both of us was around $15 for the food. Now Brother's Lounge is not the same level of quality as Pier W or Fat Cats, but it is very good and the quality for the price is expected. The fact that it was walking distance made it an excellent choice for any random week night!
Feel free to share your tips and best happy hours as well! I need to start frequenting the happy hour scene and start trying some new places. We enjoyed many other places, but on the cost/quality ratio they were pretty standard. Next blog I might write about reverse happy hours at some great places!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Gift Certificate Affordability!
My main goal in this is to give people ways to enjoy eating out or making dinner in without sacrificing any type of quality! Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks for eating somewhere special with gift certificates!
1) Cleveland Independents. The Cleveland Independents have so many ways to enjoy local food at a great price. First you need to friend them on facebook so you are the first to hear about some great offers as they are available. In the past I have won gift certificates for places I might not have tried without the nudge forward. Even better is there sale of discount gift certificates. You can purchase $50 certs for $35 or $25 certs for $17.50. To get the most popular restaurants...Light Bistro, Chinato, Great Lakes, Melt and Pier W usually go quickly. Others will be up for awhile. You can only buy one a day, so understanding what goes fast is great for planning. There are some restrictions across the board including that they cannot be used for alcohol, only one per table, and they cannot be used in conjunction with other specials.
I am able to utilize this deal throughout the months. Many times when looking for somewhere to go for dinner I log in and see what certificates are left. You buy and print instantly so it is fast and convenient.
2) Restaurant.com. This is another one of my favorite places to get discount gift certificates for a nice night out. This also has some restrictions, but they are bearable. Typically the $25 gift cards cost $10 and require you to spend a minimum amount or purchase at least 2 entrees. But you need to read the fine print as the amount for the gift certificate and the restrictions are determined by each place. Many of them exclude Friday and Saturday nights and alcohol. What I really love about this site is that throughout the year they do mega sales where you can get $50 certs for $10 or $25 certs for $4.
This site as well is a buy and print site so you can look that night and see where you want to go, purchase and use it! There are more restaurants on this site and it works for almost anywhere in the country (a good way to send gifts to family and friends out of state or when traveling). There are definitely more restriction with use and total dollar amount spent then with the Cleveland Independents Gift Certs but these are also a bit cheaper.
These are some great ways to enjoy a quality night out and still get a great value!
1) Cleveland Independents. The Cleveland Independents have so many ways to enjoy local food at a great price. First you need to friend them on facebook so you are the first to hear about some great offers as they are available. In the past I have won gift certificates for places I might not have tried without the nudge forward. Even better is there sale of discount gift certificates. You can purchase $50 certs for $35 or $25 certs for $17.50. To get the most popular restaurants...Light Bistro, Chinato, Great Lakes, Melt and Pier W usually go quickly. Others will be up for awhile. You can only buy one a day, so understanding what goes fast is great for planning. There are some restrictions across the board including that they cannot be used for alcohol, only one per table, and they cannot be used in conjunction with other specials.
I am able to utilize this deal throughout the months. Many times when looking for somewhere to go for dinner I log in and see what certificates are left. You buy and print instantly so it is fast and convenient.
2) Restaurant.com. This is another one of my favorite places to get discount gift certificates for a nice night out. This also has some restrictions, but they are bearable. Typically the $25 gift cards cost $10 and require you to spend a minimum amount or purchase at least 2 entrees. But you need to read the fine print as the amount for the gift certificate and the restrictions are determined by each place. Many of them exclude Friday and Saturday nights and alcohol. What I really love about this site is that throughout the year they do mega sales where you can get $50 certs for $10 or $25 certs for $4.
This site as well is a buy and print site so you can look that night and see where you want to go, purchase and use it! There are more restaurants on this site and it works for almost anywhere in the country (a good way to send gifts to family and friends out of state or when traveling). There are definitely more restriction with use and total dollar amount spent then with the Cleveland Independents Gift Certs but these are also a bit cheaper.
These are some great ways to enjoy a quality night out and still get a great value!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Getting Started
This is my first post. I would like to explain a little bit about myself and my goal with this blog. I love local culture and local dining. Chain restaurants I think are over priced, salty, and the food is just not high quality. One of the things I found throughout my 20's was that so many people did not want to go out to a local restaurant thinking that it was too expensive, but they loved Outback or Chili's where the actual cost per meal was almost the same. As I moved up in my career I had more disposable income for eating out and other things but still did not want to just waste money on a mediocre meal. My hope is to share tips and tricks and my favorite places to go for great food at a great price. I should add a disclaimer I judge my food and cost based on the quality. So I may very well categorize a hole in the wall bar with bar food as excellent while rating a casual family dining restaurant as poor.
I love going out and experiencing the great City of Cleveland but I have had some times when I did not have much money to spend. My hope is to share the tips and tricks of my life with others. I should also add a disclaimer that everyone has priorities for their income. One of my priorities is good food. I do not go to movies or concerts all that much because I prefer to spend my money on food. Therefore, some of my frugal suggestions are aimed at how to find free entertainment in Cleveland as well.
Hopefully this is of interest to others and it can be a fun blog with input from those who read it as well!
I love going out and experiencing the great City of Cleveland but I have had some times when I did not have much money to spend. My hope is to share the tips and tricks of my life with others. I should also add a disclaimer that everyone has priorities for their income. One of my priorities is good food. I do not go to movies or concerts all that much because I prefer to spend my money on food. Therefore, some of my frugal suggestions are aimed at how to find free entertainment in Cleveland as well.
Hopefully this is of interest to others and it can be a fun blog with input from those who read it as well!
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