Biker Bar Great Food

I friended Lion on Lorain, a biker bar in West Park, a few months back just for fun.  Every time they post food it looks amazing and it sounds even better.  This place boasts itself as a biker bar but it is so much more than that.  The food and drinks are unique twists on some classics.  The food and drinks are cheap but well worth it.  This bar is not your typical bar food.

The drink menu is great for flavored vodka lover's such as myself.  I cannot say much about the beer menu because I am not much of a beer drinker, although they do have Christmas Ale!!!!!!!!  I had one drink from the menu and the other two the friendly bar tender just created for me based on what I liked.  All three had cherry vodka (my fav!) and a different blend of juices.  The drinks were only $3.25 each, a great deal for a hard liquor drink. 

The menu has amazingly creative items.  It is divided into groups of appetizers, sandwiches, and burgers.  Myself and my dining companion enjoyed the sandwich section....$8 per sandwich with choice of tator tots or jojo's.  I had The Ex.  It was a toasted crunchy baguette with a jalapeno bacon jam, lettuce, tomato, delicious lightly fried chicken breast, cheese and a very good creamy sauce.  I opted for the sweet potato tots and they were crunchy and perfect.  The sandwich was so big I could only eat half of it.  It was the first sandwich I had in a long time that was a perfect proportion of bread to filling to vegetables to sauce.  Everything melded together perfectly with a great flavor and a spicy kick!  I of course had to add some hot sauce just because.  My companion indulged in the "Fresh Prince".  A mix of a philly steak and a roast beef au jus.  The sandwich looked amazing and I should have asked for a bite.  There was perfectly sliced beef, onion, mushrooms, jalapenos, cheese wiz, and it was falling apart with each bite. 

While this food was great it completely fit in with my frugality.  $8 for a sandwich good enough for 2 days is a great deal in my book!  I cannot wait to go back again.  There are no plain burgers on the menu.  All of them have unique toppings.  I was looking at the California burger, topped with onions, avocado and a verde sauce.  The other menu item that just makes my mouth water is the mac and cheese.  This is not normal mac and cheese....this includes a variety of toppings that you can choose for the mac and cheese.  The only thing better than pasta and cheese is a dish that includes bacon, pulled pork, or taco beef along with a mixture of jalapenos and other veggies. 

I would definitely go back again.  The staff was very nice, the chef came out to talk to us about the food and the place.  It was warm and inviting.  This place is amazing, cheap, and the best bar food I have had in a long time! They do have specials each night including taco's on Tuesday, Pizza on Wednesday, Burgers on Friday, and a steak dinner on Sunday's.  When I say special, I mean something new different and not on the menu.  I cannot say enough about this place and look forward to reporting on the burgers and the mac and cheese from personal experience. 

Downtown Restaurant Week 2012- XO

This is a short post.  One reason is that I was slightly disappointed with my dinner from Downtown Cleveland Restaurant week.  For years I heard great things about XO and I have always wanted to try it.  Their menu for restaurant week sounded amazing so I really wanted to try the food. 

I started my meal with the mini short rib wellington with a wild mushroom risotto.  The short rib wellington was literally amuse bouche size, not appetizer size.  The risotto was ok, but not great.  For the entree I ordered the twin fillet with sauteed spinach and potato cake.  The fillet was cooked ok but it was not the quality I expected from XO.  The spinach was flavorless.  The meal was ok, ut just not great.  Dessert was the warm berry compote.  That was the first thing I ate all night that was really good.  It was buttery and fruity.   

I would not return to XO based on this experience. 

The good news is that Cleveland Independents is going to have a Restaurant week starting April 2nd~  Who wants to take me to dinner for my birthday?